Acoustical engineering: A complete academic undergraduate program in Brazil

Abstract

Acoustics is a broad field of knowledge that extends branches all over the physics of wave phenomena, psychology, natural sciences, and engineering. It is taught, in general, as part of engineering, physics, or architecture programs, or even in graduate programs specialized in the theme. In Brazil, acoustics was taught in graduate programs, until the creation of Acoustical Engineering in 2009, at the Federal University of Santa Maria, an integral undergraduate program dedicated to acoustics, audio, and vibration (lasting ten semesters). This article presents its complete academic program, its creation process, and the professional establishment of the acoustical engineer. In the following, the program of study and subjects are elucidated and detailed, and the teaching methodologies used are also discussed. The program employs several active learning strategies, like project-based learning, aiming to transform abstract into concrete knowledge. The interaction of the university, the acoustical engineer, and society is also presented and clarified. The placement of graduates in fields and their workplaces are presented as outcomes. As a fundamental part of the engineer's formation, the infrastructure used, whether state-of-the-art or cost-effective equipment, is detailed in the context of teaching and research. Finally, some of the ongoing research projects of the students are described.

Enhancing Conclusion Sections in Final Year Project Presentations: An Engineering Perspective

“…Previous studies have reported this presentation includes laboratory presentations, feasibility reports, progress/status reports, survey presentations, training lectures, and business reports as investigated by Disanza and Legge [13,14], Srinon [11] and Srinon et al, [12], Ferrer-Pardo et al, [15]. Rosalina [7], Seals [8], Benraghda et al, [16], Fonseca et al, [17] and Xian Ming [18] defined oral presentation as a partly spoken and visual form of communication that occurs in organisational settings, with the objective to transfer information, established as a formal assessment for the students. Fonseca et al, [17] further adds that such presentations are usually audience-friendly, highly casual, and very difficult for non-native English speakers to perform.…”

“…Rosalina [7], Seals [8], Benraghda et al, [16], Fonseca et al, [17] and Xian Ming [18] defined oral presentation as a partly spoken and visual form of communication that occurs in organisational settings, with the objective to transfer information, established as a formal assessment for the students. Fonseca et al, [17] further adds that such presentations are usually audience-friendly, highly casual, and very difficult for non-native English speakers to perform.…”

How Extensively do Teachers Train Students' Metacognition Abilities in Physics Learning in High School?

“…Many schools and universities are now utilizing digital technology and multimedia to aid in visualizing difficul and abstract physics concepts (Rahim et al, 2022;Sunaryo et al, 2022). Furthermore, many physics teachers are adopting project-based approaches (Yanti et al, 2019;Widyaningsih & Yusuf, 2019;Santyasa et al, 2020;Makkonen et al, 2021) and problem-based approaches (Fauzana, et al, 2019;Pane et al, 2021;Kanyesigye et al, 2022a;Kanyesigye, et al, 2022b;Fonseca et al, 2022) to motivate students and help them better understand physics concepts.…”