Proposal of a Mathematics Pilot Program for Engineering Students from Vulnerable Groups of Escuela Politécnica Nacional

Published in: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities and Communities: Proceedings of the 17th LACCEI International Multi-Conference for Engineering, Education and Technology
Date of Conference: July 24-26, 2019
Location of Conference: Montego Bay, Jamaica
Authors: Ivan Sandoval (Escuela Politécnica Nacional, EC)
Tarquino Sanchez (Escuela Politécnica Nacional, EC)
David Naranjo (Escuela Politécnica Nacional, EC)
Angelica Jimenez (Escuela Politécnica Nacional, EC)
(Escuela Politécnica Nacional)
Full Paper: #387

Abstract:

Since 2017, “Secretaría Nacional de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENESCYT),”has included, among the new students of the “Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN)”, the population segment of vulnerable groups, called “Política de Cuotas” . These students tend to have low academic performance and high dropout rates. Mathematics, which is very important for the training of Engineering students, presents the lowest performance indicators. For this reason, the EPN, to solve this problem, proposes a pilot program in Mathematics for engineering students who are part of vulnerable groups. For this, a descriptive analysis of the students enrolled in the Leveling Course between the semesters 2017-A and 2018-A was carried out. Based on the opinion of the teachers of the ""Departamento de Formación Básica (DFB)"", a diagnostic test was designed and applied to new students in the 2018-B semester. We determined that the “Política de Cuotas” students presented low percentages of approval and high percentages of school dropouts during the period studied, also, the students of “Política de Cuotas” obtained a low average grade in the diagnostic test, even when the evaluated subjects contemplated only Basic mathematics. In this context, it is proposed that the pilot program be structured in 6 units, with emphasis on Geometry, Trigonometry and Real Functions. It is recommended that the pilot program be implemented as a previous course before the leveling course, so that the “Política de Cuotas” Government's program, fulfills its mission of effectively including students from vulnerable groups to Higher Education System.