Clustered Social Representation of Active Methodologies in Engineering Courses a case study at Goiás State, Brazil

This work aims to identify changes and trends that favor the students' learning style and autonomy, through a qualitative evaluation of the social representation of students in the development of individual and group activities. Questionnaire application and interviews were carried out at both the Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás (PUC Goiás) and the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). The questionnaire is based on a 7-point Likert scale, which evaluates 13 items in four dimensions. After answering, each item is analyzed by the k-means clustering method, which groups the data unsupervised according to the levels of similarity of each item. With the result, we can point out what are the aspects that determine the skills and psychosocial profile of students, from this, it will be possible to make changes in the methodology applied to benefit the learning process of students, favoring multidisciplinary skills, the courage to face the students. challenges creatively, the ease of adapting to change, working as a team, valuing and understanding one's point of view - with commitment and ethics.

Power Electronics Education A Contemporary Teaching Appproach

Currently, there is a growing demand for methodologies that best qualify engineering students at universities. These methodologies require a substantial change in Engineering Teaching programs improving or even changing the traditional ways of imparting knowledge to students. In Power Electronics (PE) study the factors that make learning difficult for Electrical Engineering students, in order for them to achieve full understanding of the subjects addressed in a first discipline in this area, are the academic maturity required coupled with their multidisciplinary nature. The problem is aggravated in practical activities, which demand the availability of a laboratory infrastructure with specific characteristics not always available. An alternative for the study of PE, with a more contemporary focus, is to introduce, through a new Instructional Design (ID) Project, not only the incorporation of more Hands-On activities that approach truly meaningful (authentic) contents. But also, new methodologies and technologies to support educational objectives that make full use of Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICTs).This work proposes to develop and carry out a methodological design of a blended teaching for a power-electronics-based practical training program (PEBPTP) for students of the Electrical Engineering Course of the Federal University of Maranhão in Brazil. The proposed program is mainly based on the use of a digital controller (unified) based on FPGA, developed and realized specifically for control and power inverters study. From controller´s VHDL Code already realized, a Reuse Logic Block is generated (Intellectual Property Core (IP Core)), for use within the LabVIEW FPGA Hardware Description Environment. A Graphical Interface (GUI), more intuitive, and developed from the LabVIEW environment, will support the realization of the PEBPTP, for parameterizing the Controller, and show relevant figures of merit of the performance of the converter being study. The active methodologies, converging with the diverse possibilities of resources of the DICTs, implanted in the classroom, with the adequate contextualization of the specific resources of each area, contribute increasingly to the student being protagonist of their own knowledge construction. Finally is proposed, and in full adherence to a novel trend, that both the PEBPTP and the unified controller previously developed in FPGA are embedded in what is being named Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC). This embedded structure will allow access to the laboratory hands-on program via a web service that uses a fully programmable logic device (PLD) that incorporates an integrated structure known as System-on-a-Chip (SoC). The above proposals and experiences involve the mastery not only of curricular and technological knowledge, inherent to the training of an engineer, but of mainly, the pedagogical technological knowledge and correct use of DICTs. At this point, in particular, is founded our contribution within the context of Engineering Teaching, to advance in the improvement or perhaps in the modification of the "classroom" of engineering courses, which today go beyond the physical space of the university.

Tests of pervious concrete as learning tool Comparative Study About: Evolution of the Trait, Methods and Complementary Analysis

The execution of pervious concrete pavements has been used over the years as a pedagogical resource in the Civil Engineering course at UNEMAT - Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, campus of Tangará da Serra – MT – Brazil. With the purpose of aggregating scientific knowledge to the academics, providing advances in the technique used in the production of pervious concrete, as well to the development of the University's physical space. In this article, some of these studies will be presented in order to discuss the scientific observations made by academics in the development of practices and to evaluate the evolution in the methodologies of trait and execution. The characteristic that allow water infiltration has made porous concrete chosen to remedy problems due to the accumulation of water at several points on campus. In addition, another necessity was to promote the interconnection between classroom blocks. The works were evaluated taking into account the reports developed by the academics during the activities. In this analysis, the advancement of the techniques employed even when the students did not have the appropriate equipment. It was possible to observe modifications in the techniques of staining the concrete and the level of difficulty of the drainage process involved. The results were discussed in view of both the evolution of the technique of preparation of the pervious concrete pavement by the academics, as well as the practice as a didactic and social resource. Recently, besides the permeability, the thermal properties of porous concrete have also begun to be explored. Would the pervious concrete pavements has betters thermal performance than the conventional ones? In the state of Mato Grosso for presenting high annual average temperatures if, the pervious pavements contributes to a lower heat retention compared to the conventional one, this would show an excellent alternative for the substitution of the conventional pavements, prioritizing the thermal comfort of the academic community. Because of that, a comparative analysis was performed between the temperature values recorded in the porous pavements, in the conventional and green areas of the campus. The methodology of this research consisted in performance of temperature measurements with an infrared thermometer, the measurements was for 20 days distributed in four months, four times per day (8 a.m., 11 a.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m.). The rainy season in the region caused some variations in the results, since conventional concrete, when moist, takes longer to lose this moisture and absorb heat. The colors chosen in the painting also influenced results, because, in the pavements that the pervious concrete was not painted, showed lower temperatures than the conventional. The development of activities related to the analysis and production of pervious concrete contribute to the academic training of students of the Civil Engineering course on two fronts: obtaining technical knowledge and capacity for teamwork, exploring all the basic procedures of the routine of a real work.