Análise de indicadores do perfil discente e docente para estimativas de desempenho acadêmico: um estudo com alunos de Cálculo Diferencial e Integral I em escolas de engenharia no Brasil e na França

Abstract

This study aimed at assessing what are variable able to influence academic performance of freshmen in Engineering faculties in the subject Calculus I from a set of indicators that contemplates socioeconomic, educational, and behavioral variable which students’ profiles describe, and variable associated to didactic characteristics of professors as well. Based on self-regulation fundamentals and by adopt the learning co-responsibility logic, two instruments were developed, one of them regarding students’ perception on their own study practices, and the other one related to students’ perception on teaching strategies used by Calculus I professors. This applied research has quantitative approach, and data were surveyed through documental consultation and questionnaires for freshmen in Engineering faculties in France and Brazil. Data were analyzed based on descriptive statistics, on applying hypothesis testing and Multiple Correspondence Analysis. As a result, findings show that there is propension to younger students and those with better mathematics knowledge present better performances in Calculus I. Findings also demonstrate, according to the students’ perception, that assessment strategies are less mobilized by professors, especially those regarding feedbacks, to the offer of self-assessment, and to diversification of ways of assessment to evaluate students. Regarding the learning strategies, analysis indicate that metacognitive ones are more frequent, and at large, students use similar study strategies, regardless the performance achieved in Calculus I. Successful students showed more strategic themselves, mobilizing different study techniques when compared to those who failed in the subject. Therefore, the research signals the necessity for joint actions so that more effective results might be achieved in terms of learning and academic performance in that curricular component. The study concludes that, when diversifying and enlarging teaching strategy options for students, it stimulates them to make efforts to use a larger repertoire of learning strategies. Finally, as the main research product, an environment was elaborated in the Moodle platform of the University, in which tests and exercises are available, approaching elementary Mathematics contents that privileges immediate feedbacks to the students who attend the subjects Differential and Integral Calculus I.