BRENG ACTING ON THE DECOLAR PROJECT Posted on: 06/06/2019 The CEO of BRENG, Dr. Felipe Jean, during the NASA Science Days 2019 event held between April 05 and 06, 2019 in the city of São José dos Campos - SP , was invited by teachers the Decolar Project (initiative of the Municipality of São José dos Campos) to volunteer in the area of Aerospace Engineering and assist in the development of the potential and talent of students of the municipal public education network.
On April 10, BRENG visited the headquarters of Decolar, located at the MIC - Interactive Science Museum, where there was a presentation of the facilities and details of the methodology of the program. At the time the CEO of BRENG reported that he had already volunteered the program in 2008, still as a student of the technical course in mechanics of the municipal technical school CEPHAS. At the time, Dr Felipe Jean acted as a volunteer in the mechanics area, helping students interested in robotics. The activities took place in the context in which the CEO of BRENG was a member of the CEPHAS # 1860 robotics team, which participated in the North American robotics competition called FIRST. At the end of the visit BRENG's CEO, Dr. Felipe Jean signed the book of volunteers, officializing his participation in the area of Aerospace Engineering of the Decolar Program. In addition, BRENG's collaborator, Cínthia Lisbôa, also signed the book of volunteers of the program, in the areas of Literature, Literature and Biology.
The CEO of BRENG, Dr. Felipe Jean, says that students reported having aroused interest in Aerospace Engineering when observing airplanes, due to the influence of films and because the area always fiddles with the children's imagination. Felipe also says that the classes taught under the Decolar Program are very comprehensive, ranging from historical contexts of the Aerospace field to practical activities aimed at enhancing the cognitive processes of the students involved. In this way, students can not only know the history, but also understand engineering details that involve the daily life of a professional in the area, as well as being able to see up close the technologies that were only accessible by Television or the Internet, he says.
The Decolar Program, Potential and Talent Development Program, closed in 2013 and resumed only in 2018, serves elementary school students from about 43 municipal schools in São José dos Campos. During the meetings held in the counterpart of the classes, in places near the school of origin, adolescents participate in educational interventions in the areas of astronomy, English, Spanish, histories, biology, chemistry, Japanese, cooking, robotics, mathematics, painting on canvas , engineering, theater, circus, dance, keyboard and guitar. The program aims to identify, monitor and stimulate the development of the potential of gifted and talented students in the municipal network. To be part of Decolar, students with high capacity are observed by the teachers of the network for three years (3rd, 4th and 5th years). After this period, they undergo a data analysis and observation by the team of specialists of the program. Research indicates that 3% of the population is endowed with high capacity. The estimate is that, in four years, about 500 students of the municipal education network will be served by Decolar.
The team that makes the Decolar Program goes through several formations. They are lectures, courses and seminars. In addition to the team of facilitators, pedagogical team and partnership with families of children and adolescents, Decolar also has several volunteers selected from a call for proposals.
The program is based on the Cedet Methodology (Pathways to Develop Potential and Talent), developed by PhD Zenita Guenther, whose work has been carried out for more than 20 years by the Center for the Development of Potential and Talent of Lavras (MG). The educator has researched the subject for more than 40 years and has works and research recognized nationally and internationally.
Source: Secretariat of Education and Citizenship of the Municipality of São José dos Campos - SP