The Perceptions of Engineering Teachers on a “Practice What You Preach” PLE Training Program

Authors

  • Samuel Ribeiro Tavares Universidade Nove de Julho – UNINOVE
  • Léa Paz da Silva Universidade Nove de Julho – UNINOVE
  • Luiz Carlos de Campos Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo – PUC-SP

Abstract

                This study is meant as contribution to the theoretical foundations and practical applications of the PLE (Project-Led Education) methodology, which is still very incipient, and requires much discussion about how and with what results it has been being used in engineering programs throughout the world. The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model of engineering teachers’ necessary competencies in PLE developed by eight teachers from one of those three universities studied by Tavares & Campos (2013), who decided to prepare themselves for the PLE methodology new teaching roles, through a training program designed on the basis of PLE methodology itself, which would allow them to experience the PLE methodology from their students’ perspective. A synthesis on the teachers' perceptions about the training program, obtained through a Likert scale questionnaire, and confirmed through observation and unstructured interviews, indicated that a teachers' training based on the PLE methodology can be an effective way for universities to help them understand students’ and teachers’ roles in this new educational methodology.

References

S. R. Tavares and L. C. Campos. A survey on the synergy between teaching and learning approaches in Brazilian Engineering Schools. In: 5th International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education: Closing the Gap between University and Industry. Eindhoven: PAEE, 2013.

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Published

2017-08-23