Fatores que influenciam a aprendizagem de conceitos matemáticos em cursos de engenharia: Um estudo exploratório com estudantes da Universidade do Minho

Abstract

Success in the learning of Mathematics in higher education constitutes anemerging field of research, particularly in the Engineering courses. In Portugal,however, the research in this area remains incipient. It is therefore relevant toexplore which factors may clarify the relation between the Engineeringstudents and Mathematics. Based on three focus groups carried out withstudents from two Engineering courses at the University of Minho, thisexploratory study aims to investigate the attitudes of students in the learningof mathematical concepts and find out the factors that influence theirexperience in the learning process. Beyond the perception of the importanceof Mathematics in their course and their future profession, the results suggestthat there are factors that influence their performance, such as the teacher'srole and his/her teaching methodology, as well as the applicability ofmathematical concepts in the context of Engineering, the student’s active rolein learning and the influence of parents and society.