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Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-11-09Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:00:49Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 vieirajunior_n_dr_ilha.pdf: 3761300 bytes, checksum: 437e37bdff153267167d49cc9ddaa3f1 (MD5) / PROPG - Programa de Pós-Graduação / Nas últimas décadas a educação em engenharia tem enfrentado crescentes problemas como a desmotivação dos alunos, a evasão escolar e a exigência de novas habilidades. Diversas razões poderiam ser apontadas para justificar estes fatos, como o despreparo didático-metodológico dos professores, o descompasso entre métodos e tecnologia etc. Neste contexto algumas inovações como a utilização de objetos de aprendizagem têm sido propostas na literatura, entretanto, falhas conceituais no projeto destes recursos são observadas neste trabalho e os insucessos decorridos de sua utilização atribuídos a ausência metodológica no seu desenvolvimento. Como alternativa este trabalho sugere uma nova metodologia construtiva para um AVA (Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem) baseada nas ciências cognitivas e defende que esta mudança de paradigma pode favorecer os procedimentos atuais para a tecnologia educacional. É proposto um algoritmo que monitora em tempo real o comportamento e as características dos usuários perante três variáveis: uma pedagógica, uma cognitiva e uma de desempenho probabilístico – sendo que as duas primeiras são também medidas estatísticas. Os testes que quantificam estas variáveis foram matematicamente construídos e validados. Esta ação de controle permite que interfaces sejam dinamicamente adaptadas e individualizadas possibilitando que características de interesse sejam implícita e gradativamente exercitadas. Para atingir este objetivo foram identificados os modelos mentais, e seus respectivos níveis, para um dos tópicos com o maior número de softwares educacionais encontrados na literatura: potência elétrica. A seguir desenvolveu-se e validou-se, a partir de análise fatorial exploratória, uma nova versão de um dos principais instrumentos para identificação... / Engineering education has passed through growing problems at the last decades, such as the lack of motivation, the school dropout and the requirement of new abilities. Many reasons could be pointed to justify these facts, as the didactic unpreparedness of teachers, the mismatch between methods and technology etc. In this context some innovations like the use of learning objects has been proposed in the literature, however conceptual failures on the project of these resources are observed in this work and the unsuccessfulness on its use is presumed to be due to lack of methodology on its development. So this work suggests a new constructive methodology to a LMS (Learning Management System) based on the cognitive sciences and defends that this paradigm change can favour the current proceedings. It is proposed an algorithm that monitors in real time the behavior and the user’s characteristics in respect of three variables: the first one is pedagogical, the second is cognitive and the last one measures the probabilistic performance – the first two are also considered as statistics measures. The tests that quantify these variables were mathematically constructed and validated. This control action allows interfaces to be dynamically adapted and individualized so enabling characteristics of interest to be implicit and gradually exercised. To achieve this goal the mental models and its progression level were identified, for one of the topics with the largest number of educational software found in the literature: electrical power. In the sequence a better version of one of the main tools to profile identification in engineering, based on exploratory factor analysis, was developed and validated: the Felder and Soloman (1991) Index of Learning Styles. Finally, it was adapted a probabilistic methodology, supported by Item Response Theory... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Thesis (MTech (Electrical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / This work examines the challenges facing the Department of Electrical Engineering at CPUT regarding the development of entrepreneurship in the South Africa. Industry and higher education in South Africa face a testing future of profound technological change, a shortage of engineers, as well as an engineering job market that continues to grow ever smaller. There is a pressing need for technology graduates to harbour skills to grow new high technology ventures. The recent report published by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor showed our graduates having the potential to reverse the negative growth in the skills market by way of wealth creation and thus job creation. Therefore, academic institutions, such as CPUT, need to produce not only quality technology graduates, but also effective entrepreneurial graduates. This research examines ways in which the curriculum at the faculty could be expanded to include an engineering-biased entrepreneurship stream, presenting engineering graduates with opportunity to generate income from sources other than the job market. The perception of both first year and BTech (fourth year) students are tested regarding the need for entrepreneurial engineers in the SA economy, and the academic's role in supporting such a need. The perception of senior staff are also sought to provide a more rounded perspective on possible interventions. The results show both entry-level and exit-level students agree an additional stream, focusing on entrepreneurship would empower them to make informed decisions regarding their futures. The results could be used to shape the sustainable inclusion of entrepreneurial imperatives in an engineering context.

Thesis (MEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Currently, there is a high attrition rate amongst students who are registered at public technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in the Western Cape. In this sector, attrition rate has also been referred to as ‘through-put rate’ which both mean that there is a reduction in the number of students completing a programme for a variety of reasons. This study focuses on the reasons why these students are leaving the colleges before completing the programme. Perspectives of students who registered at a technical vocational education and training (TVET) college are analysed. As a result of students dropping out of their studies, emphasis is being placed on what students are experiencing at the TVET colleges, which eventually influences their decision to drop out and become part of the TVET attrition statistics. This study provides information based specifically on the students’ experience in the National Certificate Vocational [NC(V)] civil engineering programme at the TVET college where they were registered. Reasons are provided which will clearly indicate that attrition is not only the result of the students’ inability to cope academically but that student attrition can also be the result of other factors. The topic to be addressed in this study is: Factors contributing toward attrition of engineering students at public vocational colleges in the Western Cape. This study is situated within a critical research paradigm which will allow an analysis of the reasons for attrition in civil engineering programmes at one of the TVET colleges with the ultimate aim of contributing towards social change. This study will apply a qualitative data collection approach and will make use of interviews. This study makes continual reference to the work of Vincent Tinto as he has done much research on the topic of attrition in education.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / A steady decline in student enrolment at the Tshwane University of Technology’s Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (TUTFEBE) was seen in recent years. Small numbers of South African pupils have been matriculating with Mathematics as a subject, and most of them have been underperforming. Since there has been no scientific evidence to date on which recruitment and guidance efforts work best for attracting quality learners for courses in engineering at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), this study was conducted to identify the factors that influence learners’ choice of engineering as a career. This information could assist in the design of an evidence-based recruitment and marketing model. A single-case explanatory study design was used for this research, since it focused on the TUTFEBE. A quantitative and qualitative study was completed by means of inputs from first-year extended curriculum engineering programme students. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Study of Social Sciences (SPSS). By studying the qualitative data from more than one viewpoint, the quantitative findings were verified and triangulated. The influences that played a role in learners’ career choices were identified. Thematic clusters emerged as stimulation or creation of an awareness of or interest in engineering, the influences of different people on learners’ career choices, relevant exposure to careers in engineering, the huge impact of Maths and Science teachers on learners’ career decision-making, method of teaching, employability and the image and reputation of an institution. It became evident that engineering faculties themselves need to assume responsibility for the recruitment of their students. Copying seems to be the main coping strategy in most institutions regarding marketing and recruitment engagements. Although many of TUTFEBE’s current marketing and recruitment actions were on par with the rest of the world, alternative actions were identified and implemented in the model. Informed consent in written format for both the quantitative and qualitative studies was obtained from the subjects after they had been informed what the purpose, risks and benefits were and which procedures would be implemented to ensure confidentiality. The subjects were informed of their right to withdraw at any stage, without any penalty or disadvantage, and were assured that withdrawal would in no way influence their continued relationship with the researcher or their academic progress at TUT.

Orientador: Laurence Duarte Colvara / Banca: Sérgio Azevedo de Oliveira / Banca: Maria Angela de Moraes Cordeiro / Banca: Marcius Fantozzi Giorgetti / Banca: Carlos Bernardes Rosa Junior / Resumo: Nas últimas décadas a educação em engenharia tem enfrentado crescentes problemas como a desmotivação dos alunos, a evasão escolar e a exigência de novas habilidades. Diversas razões poderiam ser apontadas para justificar estes fatos, como o despreparo didático-metodológico dos professores, o descompasso entre métodos e tecnologia etc. Neste contexto algumas inovações como a utilização de objetos de aprendizagem têm sido propostas na literatura, entretanto, falhas conceituais no projeto destes recursos são observadas neste trabalho e os insucessos decorridos de sua utilização atribuídos a ausência metodológica no seu desenvolvimento. Como alternativa este trabalho sugere uma nova metodologia construtiva para um AVA (Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem) baseada nas ciências cognitivas e defende que esta mudança de paradigma pode favorecer os procedimentos atuais para a tecnologia educacional. É proposto um algoritmo que monitora em tempo real o comportamento e as características dos usuários perante três variáveis: uma pedagógica, uma cognitiva e uma de desempenho probabilístico - sendo que as duas primeiras são também medidas estatísticas. Os testes que quantificam estas variáveis foram matematicamente construídos e validados. Esta ação de controle permite que interfaces sejam dinamicamente adaptadas e individualizadas possibilitando que características de interesse sejam implícita e gradativamente exercitadas. Para atingir este objetivo foram identificados os modelos mentais, e seus respectivos níveis, para um dos tópicos com o maior número de softwares educacionais encontrados na literatura: potência elétrica. A seguir desenvolveu-se e validou-se, a partir de análise fatorial exploratória, uma nova versão de um dos principais instrumentos para identificação... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Engineering education has passed through growing problems at the last decades, such as the lack of motivation, the school dropout and the requirement of new abilities. Many reasons could be pointed to justify these facts, as the didactic unpreparedness of teachers, the mismatch between methods and technology etc. In this context some innovations like the use of learning objects has been proposed in the literature, however conceptual failures on the project of these resources are observed in this work and the unsuccessfulness on its use is presumed to be due to lack of methodology on its development. So this work suggests a new constructive methodology to a LMS (Learning Management System) based on the cognitive sciences and defends that this paradigm change can favour the current proceedings. It is proposed an algorithm that monitors in real time the behavior and the user's characteristics in respect of three variables: the first one is pedagogical, the second is cognitive and the last one measures the probabilistic performance - the first two are also considered as statistics measures. The tests that quantify these variables were mathematically constructed and validated. This control action allows interfaces to be dynamically adapted and individualized so enabling characteristics of interest to be implicit and gradually exercised. To achieve this goal the mental models and its progression level were identified, for one of the topics with the largest number of educational software found in the literature: electrical power. In the sequence a better version of one of the main tools to profile identification in engineering, based on exploratory factor analysis, was developed and validated: the Felder and Soloman (1991) Index of Learning Styles. Finally, it was adapted a probabilistic methodology, supported by Item Response Theory... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

D.Phil. (Engineering Management) / Process improvement is essential for an organisation to remain competitive in the global market. Regardless of the type of products or service being rendered, such improvement is essential for remaining profitable and staying at the top of one’s industry market. The Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology is a preferred methodology for continuously improving business processes, thereby improving profitability and increasing market share. Higher education institutions are increasingly being placed under pressure to improve throughput and to ensure that that their institutions are sustainable. This focus on higher education inefficiencies has resulted in institutions looking for new ways to improve processes which will lead to increases in throughput. In this study, a LSS framework has been developed and applied for improving engineering education processes...

This study examines ideas of purpose in undergraduate engineering education by drawing on John Dewey’s conception of “Vocation of Life” and the more recent conception of “Twenty-First Century Skills.” Through a single-site case study and utilizing the constant comparative method, this study produced a set of student learning outcomes the faculty at “Oxbow College” describe for their disciplinary teaching that includes technical, professional, and personal skills. The faculty also described a set of department, school, and national level (i.e. ABET accreditation) contexts that impacted their conceptions. This study is set within a broader landscape of attainment issues in STEM education, and engineering specifically, including: 1) student interest in an engineering education; 2) persistence in engineering education for all students; 3) attainment of engineering degrees by a diverse set of students representing the broader national population. Addressing these challenges is imperative because engineering remains of great importance to the United States’ position of technical authority in the world though the United States confers a significantly lower proportion of bachelors degrees in science and engineering compared with other industrialized nations. Compounding this challenge is the need to broaden engineering education to include non-technical skills without sacrificing technical rigor. Most noteworthy in the findings of this study, these faculty speak directly to a set of student learning outcomes including technical and non-technical (professional and personal) skills in their disciplinary engineering courses. In doing so, they are expanding the idea of what an engineering education does and what it intends to do. The purpose of an undergraduate engineering education at Oxbow College, as described by faculty, is to prepare students for all aspects of their lives after graduation. This study provides insight into what these engineering faculty perceive as important in their courses, demonstrating a shift away from the historical divide between professional and liberal education as well as providing an example of the broadening of student learning outcomes – which has implications for calculating the return on investment of a college education. By emphasizing more than just their disciplinary content, these faculty are reflecting a larger societal change regarding the purpose of higher education.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Mark Ernest Beckham. / M.S.