A aprendizagem baseada em problemas (PBL): uma implementação na educação em engenharia na voz dos atores.
Fecha
2005-04-29Autor
Ribeiro, Luis Roberto de Camargo
Metadatos
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Problem-based Learning or PBL, contrary to conventional instructional methods that
place problems after concepts have been introduced, uses open-ended problems to
initiate, focus and motivate the learning of theory. Besides favoring the construction of
knowledge, this method proposes to contribute to the development of some nontechnical
professional attributes deemed as important to the practice of engineering in
a fast changing society. This work, an intervention-research design of a qualitative
nature, sought to investigate an implementation of PBL in the teaching of engineering,
the surrounding context and how it is assessed by the main actors: students and
teacher. To this end the method was implemented in three administration theory
courses offered in the undergraduate and graduate production engineering curricula
and in the undergraduate civil engineering curriculum of a public university in São
Carlos, SP, Brazil. The three courses covered similar syllabi and were taught by the
same teacher. The data were collected by means of participant observation of classes
and unstructured interviews with the teacher before, during and after the
implementation and by way of an end-of-course questionnaire (with open questions)
responded by the students, in which they were asked to opine on PBL, its advantages
and disadvantages and its potential to meet the course goals. Additional data were
collected at the University of Newcastle, Australia, by means of participant observation
and unstructured interviews with some faculty. Grosso modo, the data collected prior to
the implementation were analyzed in light of the literature on engineering education
and higher education in general (Salum, Ramos, Sordi, Cunha, among others) and on
the influence of institutional, cultural and individual aspects on the classroom (Zeichner,
Dreeben, Lortie, Tardif, among others). The data collected during and after the
implementation were analyzed vis a vis the literature on PBL especially the metaanalyses
by Albanese & Mitchell, Vernon & Blake and Dochy et al., and the work of
authors such as Barrows, Woods, Gijselaers, among others and Shulman s teacher
knowledge base. The results showed that despite the differences among contexts the
three classes reported the learning of the knowledge as well as the development of
some skills and attitudes intended by the courses, in agreement with the teacher s
assessment. The disadvantages indicated by the students and teacher are also similar,
such as the need for more commitment and increased time. On the whole, the students
reacted positively to PBL, which suggests the viability of its use in the contexts in
question, provided that some aspects of the implementation are reconsidered and
redimensioned. Besides, although it should not be taken as a substitute for teacher
training, PBL showed to be an interesting tool in the teacher s professional
development, especially concerning the improvement of the teacher knowledge base.