Workshops in “Construction of Structures I”: A new teaching methodology in the Building Engineering Degree

Both the current economic situation in the construction sector and the continuous normative changes in the building area imply the use of new methodologies to enhance students’ competences in the degree of Building Engineer. The aim of this paper is to present, analyse and discuss the development of constructive workshops as a new teaching methodology used in the subject of Construction of Structures I at the University of Alicante to complement the constructive and technical knowledge acquired by our students and to enhance their communicative and representation skills essential for their professional practice in the future. The used methodology is based on the development of three-dimensional construction details (in groups of 3 or 4 students) to be shown in two A1-pannels exposed in the corridors of the Polytechnic School. Thus, students’ work approaches constructive problems in a global way by discussing simultaneously with teachers and other groups about the most suitable solution on each case. This contribution has multiperspective results and improves criticism of students in different areas, encouraging new learning strategies and active participation. What is more, on-line information and web applications have been used to prepare and organize this kind of workshops, allowing students to use new technologies as a complementary learning methodology. In conclusion, the use of these new workshops in the Degree of Building Engineer stimulates an interactive class versus a traditional lecture where the participative groups´ attitude and the development of oral presentations dissolve the traditional boundaries regarding public communication skills of the students in the Degree.

Random exams using Sweave

The adaptation of the Spanish University to the European Higher Education Area (EEES in Spanish) demands the integration of new tools and skills that would make the teaching- learning process easier. This adaptation involves a change in the evaluation methods, which goes from a system where the student was evaluated with a final exam, to a new system where we include a continuous evaluation in which the final exam may represent at most 50% in the vast majority of the Universities. Devising a new and fair continuous evaluation system is not an easy task to do. That would mean a student’s’ learning process follow-up by the teachers, and as a consequence an additional workload on existing staff resources. Traditionally, the continuous evaluation is associated with the daily work of the student and a collection of the different marks partly or entirely based on the work they do during the academic year. Now, small groups of students and an attendance control are important aspects to take into account in order to get an adequate assessment of the students. However, most of the university degrees have groups with more than 70 students, and the attendance control is a complicated task to perform, mostly because it consumes significant amounts of staff time. Another problem found is that the attendance control would encourage not-interested students to be present at class, which might cause some troubles to their classmates. After a two year experience in the development of a continuous assessment in Statistics subjects in Social Science degrees, we think that individual and periodical tasks are the best way to assess results. These tasks or examinations must be done in classroom during regular lessons, so we need an efficient system to put together different and personal questions in order to prevent students from cheating. In this paper we provide an efficient and effective way to elaborate random examination papers by using Sweave, a tool that generates data, graphics and statistical calculus from the software R and shows results in PDF documents created by Latex. In this way, we will be able to design an exam template which could be compiled in order to generate as many PDF documents as it is required, and at the same time, solutions are provided to easily correct them.

Practical experiences on a real pumping system emulated by a hardware model and used as a remote laboratory

Paper submitted to ACE 2013, 10th IFAC Symposium on Advances in Control Education, University of Sheffield, UK, August 28-30, 2013.

Assessment of Competences in the Physical Chemistry Area: Use of the Department Teaching Portfolio

Competences have become a standard learning outcome in present university education within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In this regard, updated tools for their assessment have turned out essential in this new teaching-learning paradigm. Among them, one of the most promising tools is the “learner´s portfolio”, which is based on the gathering and evaluation of a range of evidences from the student, which provides a wider and more realistic view of his/her competence acquisition. Its appropriate use as a formative (continuous) assessment instrument allows a deeper appraisal of student´s learning, provided it does not end up as another summative (final) evaluation tool. In this contribution we propose the use of the portfolio as a unifying assessment tool within a university department (Physical Chemistry), exemplifying how the portfolio could yield both personalized student reports and averaged area reports on competence acquisition. A proposed stepwise protocol is given to organize the individual competence reports and estimate the global competence level following a bottom-up approach (i.e. ranging from the class group, subject, grade, and academic course).

¿Cómo estudiantes para profesor de matemáticas comprenden el aprendizaje del límite de una función?

En este estudio presentamos una investigación que tiene como objetivo generar información sobre cómo estudiantes para profesor de educación secundaria (EPS) comprenden el proceso de aprendizaje de las matemáticas. El contexto que hemos utilizado es la actividad de anticipar respuestas de los estudiantes de Bachillerato que reflejen diferentes niveles de desarrollo conceptual de la comprensión del concepto de límite de una función, como una actividad relevante vinculada a la competencia docente. Los resultados muestran dos formas distintas de considerar la comprensión del concepto de límite por parte de los EPS que tienen implicación sobre cómo anticipan las respuestas de los estudiantes y sobre las características de los problemas que plantean para apoyar el aprendizaje de la concepción dinámica de límite de los estudiantes.

Teaching as a fractal: from experience to model

The aim of this work is to improve students’ learning by designing a teaching model that seeks to increase student motivation to acquire new knowledge. To design the model, the methodology is based on the study of the students’ opinion on several aspects we think importantly affect the quality of teaching (such as the overcrowded classrooms, time intended for the subject or type of classroom where classes are taught), and on our experience when performing several experimental activities in the classroom (for instance, peer reviews and oral presentations). Besides the feedback from the students, it is essential to rely on the experience and reflections of lecturers who have been teaching the subject several years. This way we could detect several key aspects that, in our opinion, must be considered when designing a teaching proposal: motivation, assessment, progressiveness and autonomy. As a result we have obtained a teaching model based on instructional design as well as on the principles of fractal geometry, in the sense that different levels of abstraction for the various training activities are presented and the activities are self-similar, that is, they are decomposed again and again. At each level, an activity decomposes into a lower level tasks and their corresponding evaluation. With this model the immediate feedback and the student motivation are encouraged. We are convinced that a greater motivation will suppose an increase in the student’s working time and in their performance. Although the study has been done on a subject, the results are fully generalizable to other subjects.

The orchestration of modes and EFL audio-visual comprehension: A multimodal discourse analysis of vodcasts

This thesis explores the role of multimodality in language learners’ comprehension, and more specifically, the effects on students’ audio-visual comprehension when different orchestrations of modes appear in the visualization of vodcasts. Firstly, I describe the state of the art of its three main areas of concern, namely the evolution of meaning-making, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and audio-visual comprehension. One of the most important contributions in the theoretical overview is the suggested integrative model of audio-visual comprehension, which attempts to explain how students process information received from different inputs. Secondly, I present a study based on the following research questions: ‘Which modes are orchestrated throughout the vodcasts?’, ‘Are there any multimodal ensembles that are more beneficial for students’ audio-visual comprehension?’, and ‘What are the students’ attitudes towards audio-visual (e.g., vodcasts) compared to traditional audio (e.g., audio tracks) comprehension activities?’. Along with these research questions, I have formulated two hypotheses: Audio-visual comprehension improves when there is a greater number of orchestrated modes, and students have a more positive attitude towards vodcasts than traditional audios when carrying out comprehension activities. The study includes a multimodal discourse analysis, audio-visual comprehension tests, and students’ questionnaires. The multimodal discourse analysis of two British Council’s language learning vodcasts, entitled English is GREAT and Camden Fashion, using ELAN as the multimodal annotation tool, shows that there are a variety of multimodal ensembles of two, three and four modes. The audio-visual comprehension tests were given to 40 Spanish students, learning English as a foreign language, after the visualization of vodcasts. These comprehension tests contain questions related to specific orchestrations of modes appearing in the vodcasts. The statistical analysis of the test results, using repeated-measures ANOVA, reveal that students obtain better audio-visual comprehension results when the multimodal ensembles are constituted by a greater number of orchestrated modes. Finally, the data compiled from the questionnaires, conclude that students have a more positive attitude towards vodcasts in comparison to traditional audio listenings. Results from the audio-visual comprehension tests and questionnaires prove the two hypotheses of this study.