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This paper is a report on the teaching experiment conducted in the Introduction to Engineering I course at PUC-Rio's Technical-Scientific Center (CTC) during the two terms of 1997. The idea was to test and develop hands-on teaching methodology as set forth in "Hands-on Teaching and Concurrent Teaching: Relations and Difficulties" (Carmo and da Silveira, 1997), including principles of entrepreneurship development, following the educational policy recommended by the NSF (U.S.) and the REENGE program (Brazil) and applied at PUC-Rio's CTC. What makes this experiment original in comparison with other project courses is the number of students involved, as well as the strategies resorted to in order to use a hands-on approach on a large scale. The paper begins with a consideration of the problem to be faced: the number and type of students who enter the University, the teachers working on this course, and the equipment available. Then the organizational strategy is described, including the division of the students in groups of 60, each under the responsibility of a specific Department. Each Department interpreted the meaning of "hands-on" in its own way and developed its own strategy for working with a large number of students. These different strategies are analyzed and compared. The paper ends with the results of an evaluation that took into account the formal results, students' opinions of teachers and outside observers. The final result was positive, and the University officially adopted the new course. Older students requested the creation of a special course using the same methodology, so that their training might also profit from it. (Author)

This paper is an attempt to comprehend, in a more objective way, the students undertaking the second semester at the Technical and Scientific Center from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). The research was carried out at the beginning of the semester, in one of the classes formed by students undertaking General Chemistry. From a sample of 300 students in a similar situation, 37 students answered the questionnaire. The study also aimed to check on their background image of Chemistry that was developed during their high school studies, as well as their expectations of involvement in this subject of study. The analysis of the answers presented was carried out in relation to a questionnaire, and divided into two groups of questions. The first one dealt with general issues and investigated the students' self-image and self-assessment. The second one strictly related to Chemistry. Some of the teaching staff ideas about the students were also checked upon and as a result of further analysis actually perceived as being pre-conceived. (KB)