The Wit-Learning Methodology as a Means for Research Skills Acquisition

Abstract

The present blistering modernization, epitomized by artificial intelligence, demands engineering graduates to address holistic, fast-changing, and even unknown problems. Thus, skills development, such as self-learning, is gaining importance against the traditional educational approach. To this regard, the wit-learning methodology was designed to stimulate the research skills during a course, supported on the similitude of the research endeavor with the desired engineers' profile. It stands out from other proposed alternatives targeting the students' capabilities that do not focus on research skills or misses their quantitative evaluation. In this chapter, the wit-learning methodology is presented together with its assessment regarding research skills acquisition, using direct and indirect measurements. Notably, it was verified to help improve the research skills through three criteria: the improvement of the students' research reports, the increased students' agreement to researchers while evaluating research reports, and their understanding of the research goals and processes.