Implementation of methodological strategies, attitudes and instruments as a PBL resource

Abstract

The evolution of knowledge, where intellectual development and adaptive skills are required, has rendered the traditional rigid curricula and teaching methodologies outdated. Education and training must be acquired throughout life, hence the need to change the teaching-learning processes. The Bologna Process introduced new paradigms that resulted in curricula revisions, the reorganization of teaching-learning processes, the structuring of courses and curricular units. It shifted the teaching process to a new form that enhances and assesses the acquisition of learning skills based on the work performed by the students. It is student-centered teaching, where it is essential to define the intended levels of knowledge, how the students achieve them, and if they reach the necessary skills in each of those levels. Each student needs to be motivated to learn and to participate in the activities, which presupposes meaningful activities to arouse the interest in developing them. The purpose of this paper is to describe a design project, its implementation, orientation and effectiveness in problem-based learning (PBL). Another purpose is the establishment of a relationship between the Bologna process and the implicit implications in the structure of teaching and training in lighting projects. This paper presents a proposal of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) using DIALux evo software. It is part of the learning methodology, supported by computer simulation for lighting projects, in the Electrical Installation and Lighting Engineering Master’s Degree in Service Engineering of Construction, 1st semester of the 1st year, in the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Institute of Engineering of Coimbra (ISEC). PBL combined with Flipped Classroom is used as a pedagogical strategy to enable higher education students to approach problems, in groups and with the supervision of a teacher, in order to acquire specialized knowledge. The implementation of the PBL method aimed at bringing education and learning closer to the professional reality of the future engineers.