Ibero American Summit on Engineering Education – a Regional Conference of the iNEER Network

São José dos Campos – SP – Brazil, 2003.

Thematic Oriented Methodology

– a Conceptual Model for Engineering Education towards International Curricula

Clara Amelia de Oliveira

Dept. of Informatics

Technological Center

Santa Catarina Federal University

Florianopolis - Brazil

 

Abstract - Globalization times have pointed out many changes in terms of educational perspective. International professional profile for engineering education can be considered as an emergence of necessity of synthesis. On this direction, the present paper presents a conceptual model, named Thematic Oriented Educational Model; witch includes core aspects for engineering education. It is described a central axis for such model which is the complex approach on knowledge treatment in education. Here, concept of complexity seems to be a core definition. This educational approach is developed looking to an open knowledge paradigm and it is aligned with the UNESCO principles for XXI century education proposed by itinerant cathedra of Complex Thought, under leadership from Edgar Morin. After a long period of pedagogic experience, with freshman Engineering and Computer Sciences curricula, they are presented practical results and examples of pedagogic activities. They illustrate how possible is to integrate synthetic and analytic actions on, day, by day, classroom activities. Those results are analyzed just reinforcing concrete possibility to achieve harmonic integration between academy and IAS - Industry Application Society, and also between, academy and ICT - Information and Communication Technologies Society. And, it is supposed that the Thematic Oriented methodology is, also included as a part of Engineering of America profile project.