DIDACTIC IMPROVEMENT ON A COURSE ABOUT MECHANICS OF STRUCTURES

The aim of this work is to give a contribution to the identification and analysis of the degree of the Engineering students' learning of the concepts of Mechanics of Structures providing the necessary help for the planning and possible modifications in the organization of the existing courses. The teaching of Engineering over the time was studied, aiming at verifying if any procedures to increase the students' motivation could be recovered from the past. The problems that could eventually concur to the high degree of students' failure in the discipline Strength of Materials taught at Escola Politecnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP) were raised. The reasons which could lay behind the different degrees of stimulus in the two types of courses have also been studied. Finally the article refers to the planning and adoption of changes made to improve the discipline Strength of Materials by means of the introduction of new strategies for the development of the desirable profile for the engineer. This improvement aims at attaining four characteristics: a solid professional formation, the conscience of being an agent of evolution, the ability to cope with new situations and an ethical consciousness.