Application of problems-based learning in engineering courses - problem case: "domino effect"

Abstract

The work shown in this article arises from an experience in the application of an extracurricular strategy, which seeks to show how learning units (courses) can be integrated, emphasizing the importance of the skills developed in them. The applied methodology is based on the research-action approach, which permanently articulates research, action and academic training, where the teacher investigates about his own actions. In the praxis of the teacher, problem-based learning is applied, a didactic method of the domain of active pedagogies, based on learning by discovery and construction. Problem Based Learning is applied using the seven-jump method in undergraduate students with different levels of academic and investigative skills studied the dynamics of a pulse along a finite chain of dominoes, seeking to calculate the speed of propagation. The problem was approached from theory and experimentation in different learning units and academic semesters. The speed of propagation of the domino effect was calculated by students with skills in mathematical problems resolution of advanced semester (7º and 8º), providing an analytical expression based on the height of the file and the separation distance between them, verified with experimental results carried out by students in 2º and 3º semester, which are in the process of strengthening their skills in experimental data analysis and ICT use. It is proposed for future experiences the use of artificial intelligence, applying artificial neural networks to give a different perspective to the solution of the problem, emphasizing digital skills.