Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas (ABP): identificação das dificuldades docentes para a utilização do método no curso de Engenharia Civil.

Abstract

The technical training of engineering teachers brings with it difficulty in mediating in an educational process way of building knowledge, which negatively influences student training. To minimize such effects, we used the Problem Based Learning (PBL) as an alternative. Therefore, this paper aims to present the difficulties identified in the teacher's perception for the use of the method in the civil engineering course through the construction of an implementation proposal in two disciplines in a public university of Marabá. The research is characterized as action research and was developed in eleven cycles proposed in the disciplines. These problems were built based on the contents offered for these subjects and a technical visit to a teaching institution that uses PBL as a curricular basis. Besides, we used observations of similar studies developed on the use of the PBL method. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using the technique, shown by the good acceptance of both the teacher and the students involved in the research. Besides that, we observed which the students have gotten excellent performance at the end of each discipline. However, some difficulties were found: the cultural elements, the curriculum, and the lack of some teaching skills as factors that can hinder the use of the PBL either by the student or by the teacher himself. From these results we concluded that the studies demonstrate the feasibility of using the method, however, essential elements present in the educational process would need to be enhanced so that the PBL could be fully used within the institution, such as teacher training, or curriculum-related issues could contribute to the development of the topic addressed in this study.