Abstract
Context: Engineering students have difficulties in solving problems involving Differential Calculus, and this is attributed to the epistemological difficulties of Calculus and the lack of mastery of algebraic manipulations. Objectives: The study investigates the problems with the basic mathematics of Engineering students through the analysis of error, making this error an observable object so that, in the self-management of knowledge, students take the necessary actions, if they wish, to develop the mathematical skills necessary to exercise the profession of Engineering. Design: For the study, qualitative research was carried out to investigate the difficulties in potentiation, radication, factorization, simplification, distributive property of multiplication in relation to addition, the order of operations, algebraic fractions, polynomials, and solution of polynomial and non-polynomial equations of a group of students from Engineering courses. Setting and participants: Students regularly enrolled in Engineering courses at Universidade Luterana do Brasil. Data collection and analysis: Data were extracted from the database of the computer-aided diagnostic assessment system (ADAC) after students performed their self-assessment. Results: In general, all students in the group had some difficulty with at least one of the evaluated contents. Even considering that the error can happen due to distraction, the number of students who answered incorrectly to two or more items by evaluated content was high, suggesting that the group has greater mathematical difficulties related to Algebra, in particular: simplifications, potentiation, operations with fractions, with roots and solving non-polynomial equations. Conclusion: For graduates of engineering courses, the use of mathematics to solve engineering problems is one of the skills to be developed during their training. From the results of the research carried out, the mathematical difficulties of most students in the group with some of the evaluated concepts were evident.
Highlights
Context: Engineering students have difficulties in solving problems involving Differential Calculus, and this is attributed to the epistemological difficulties of Calculus and the lack of mastery of algebraic manipulations
This article is an excerpt from the doctoral thesis with the theme of diagnostic assessment of mathematics, developed in the Postgraduate Program in Teaching of Science and Mathematics (PPGECIM) Programa de Pós Graduação em Ensino de Ciências e Matemática
It presents the results of the application of a Computer-Aided Diagnostic Assessment (ADAC) with students of Relative Engineering as mathematical difficulties in algebra, calculated are considered as disciplines of Differential and Integral Calculus
Summary
The concept of competence is presented, from a work perspective, as something desirable and, from a pedagogical perspective, as necessary for the integral formation of the individual Competences have their source in the professional area, which, in a training process for the exercise of work activity, was defined as the skills that make the individual able to perform a specific task in a given profession. This definition was broadened when there was a change in training for the qualification of the individual, so that, in addition to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the exercise of the profession, planning, flexibility, and autonomy were included as characteristics to be developed, extending to a broader professional base, moving from specialization to non-specialization (Bunk, 1994). Among the general skills that support the development of high-level skills, mathematical skills stand out, such as logical and mathematical reasoning, mathematical language, including reading and interpreting graphs, modelling and problem solving, and the ability to communicate, from natural language to mathematical representations and vice versa
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