Active learning in training engineer: The influence of the use of learning strategies for skills based on a systemic view

The need to expand the training of engineering students in order to develop new skills has been announced emphatically by several segments of society, as well as by the former students of these courses when they encounter the labor market. Thus, this PhD project falls within the scope of the Economics, Organizations and Knowledge Management research which investigates the processes of generation, modeling and measurement of knowledge transfer, and also studies the current scenario of engineering courses in Brazil, considering its various forms, researching the development of skills during the training process and the influence of active methodologies in the training of engineers. Professional training in any field requires ongoing training supported by actions that are based in knowledge management. The development of competencies, skills and attitudes should bring benefits to organizations, including increased productivity, knowledge preservation, improvement in the quality of decision-making, subsidies for organizational capacity and appreciation of the work. Whereas the predominant model in traditional engineering education has proved inadequate and insufficient for the professional's training with the expected profile, the purpose of this thesis was to identify the possible contributions of the use of active methodologies for the development of skills in engineer's training, from the perspective of a systemic view. The methodology used for the execution of the project was the use of literature and field research. The methodological framework was that of exploratory research with quantitative approach complementing the qualitative study using measurements made by the data collection tool built to survey the skills developed during the process of training engineering students, to ensure that the search result is applied. The research results suggest that application of fundamental knowledge in engineering, curiosity and ongoing learning, as well as the need to keep up to date on the world of engineering, teamwork and oral and written communication skills are abilities and competences that better develop during the formation process through the use of active learning methodologies. The main contribution of this study is on developing an instrument that integrates competencies, skills and active learning strategies that put students directly in contact with the professional reality and project development and solving engineering problems. The instrument designed for this filing is available and the registration of life experiences can generate a material for teachers concerned in working with the development of skills, in order to provide improvements to the quality of teaching and learning process in engineering.