Artículos
2022
Schools and their environment have the potential to be an enabler for urban transformation. These spaces constitute delimited social and physical contexts where different stakeholders and levers of change interact to face local and global challenges such as climate change. In this way, climate action educational programs (CAEPs) are presented as a tool for multi-stakeholder work, which enables the promotion of collective efficacy to catalyze transformations and behavioral changes. Through the case study of Ecology at your Doorstep project (EayD), this research seeks to analyze practical strategies to counteract the challenges of the sustainability of CAEPs. This analysis is based on the Quintuple Helix Innovation Model (QHIM), the principles of collective efficacy for behavioral change, and the social innovation process. The methodology includes interviews with key stakeholders representing the five helices, as well as surveys to students and teachers involved. The main contributions are: a new analytical framework to identify critical points with the potential to be replicated in other CAEPs and social innovation initiatives; the extension of the principles of collective efficacy to the whole social innovation process and the ecosystem of actors; and practical considerations when scaling CAEPs in urban contexts.
La ciudad de Madrid sufre notables impactos relacionados con el cambio climático, que afectan la salud, la economía, el bienestar y la equidad social de sus habitantes, sobre todo en los distritos más expuestos a la vulnerabilidad económica y social. Diversas estrategias que enfrentan este reto se vienen diseñando e implementado en la ciudad con un enfoque sistémico, multiactor, de adaptación y cohesión social. Una de estas estrategias ubica a las escuelas y sus entornos como epicentro de transformación urbana, conectándose con sus barrios, mejorando así su capacidad de adaptación y resiliencia. Este artículo expone el trabajo del programa educativo de acción climática “Ecología a pie de Barrio” (EapdB), proyecto europeo promovido por el EIT Climate-KIC e implementado en los distritos de Usera y Villaverde. A través del estudio de caso, se expone el potencial de los programas educativos de acción climática como vehículo para la reflexión y acción hacia la transformación sostenible de las ciudades y el rol de la educación para la activación y facilitación de la colaboración multiactor utilizando el modelo de innovación de quíntuple hélice (QHIM), y como elemento para revertir las desigualdades sociales.
Training future programming teachers requires an innovative approach. Not only students need to handle the most current trends in technologies and teaching-learning methodologies, but also they must develop the capacity and criteria to search and select the most adequate to their context. This work analyzes the application of a collaborative Research-Based Learning methodology in the Programming subject of a master’s degree in teacher training. The objective was to create a digital learning ecosystem and analyze the impact on the development of programming teaching skills. The results show that students perceive positive effects on the development of teaching skills, generating useful resources. However, teamwork has conditioned the quality of such resources. The digital ecosystem has allowed students to share knowledge with their peers and forthcoming students. Students who already had the generated ecosystem available valued it very positively. Future programming teachers require lifelong learning which can be supported by this living ecosystem.
This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic to explore whether team-based, online learning activities play a role in enhancing undergraduate engineering students‘ critical thinking skills. To conduct the study, we distributed a Google Form-based online survey among undergraduate engineering students through Tecnolo & PRIME;gico de Monterrey learning management system platform during the fall semester of 2020. In total, we received 50 complete responses through a convenient sampling approach. To analyze the quantitative data, we applied a hierarchical regression technique using the IBM SPSS 26.0 statistical software program. The findings of this study affirm that participation in team-based online learning activities meant to improve (1) the quality of learning and (2) reasoning ability have a significant positive correlation with critical thinking skills of undergraduate students in engineering programs. We also conclude that quality of learning has higher significant association with critical thinking skills as compared to reasoning ability
The exceptional situation experienced on the planet during the last two academic years has forced teachers to adapt their teaching. They had to pass their face-to-face teaching methodologies to online teaching. This study analyzed the perceptions of students in a master’s degree in secondary school teacher training, who have experienced the transition to bimodal teaching during the 2020–21 and 2021–22 academic years carried out by professors with high digital teaching competence. Data from two academic years are available, with a total of 207 students. The results indicate that the experience has been positive, and no significant differences were found in the follow-up of the contents when the class was followed online. However, the feeling of belonging to the group is lower in online classes than in face-to-face classes, and the perception of online teaching is more favorable in the academic year immediately developed after the COVID crisis. The bimodal modality has become a useful solution as long as the conditions of the equipment and networks are guaranteed as well as the training of teachers in digital teaching competence. In addition, the students’ perception of this modality is that it can continue once the exceptionality of the pandemic has been overcome.
2021
The emergent information and communication technologies (ICTs) have dramatically altered how higher-education institutions (HEIs) offer educational programs. New pedagogical approaches are born from technologies such as virtual or augmented learning platforms, hybrid classrooms, and e-learning courses (Chai et al., 2019). These technologies enabled HEIs to function in unprecedented crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, while increasing their outreach to adult learners (Abbas et al., 2021). This transition from traditional methods of instruction to a more modern style, however, can only be fruitful through policy implementations, structural changes, and shifts in educational philosophy (Bond et al., 2020; Lai & Dower, 2019). Yet, the extent to which HEIs successfully leverage and implement these new emerging technologies and how their institutional policymaking has impacted the adaptations of ICTs has not been fully explored. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate and document how technological advancements and HEIs evolve together to provide quality education. Technology has traditionally only been used by educators to support in- and out-of-classroom interactions of students without full integration into their education (Farjon et al., 2019). In the last two years, higher education facilitators have focused on building their digital competencies in alignment with life-changing events that occurred. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HEIs employed recent technologies, and viewed ICT advances well beyond that of a supporting tool for classic pedagogical methods (Sastre-Merino et al., 2021). Online learning platforms, game-based curriculum developments, distance learning, and hybrid learning have become the center point of the educational innovation projects. Online synchronized and asynchronized teaching methods have become a wide-spread alternative to on-campus classes. These were only possible through transforming and modernizing the educational systems based on such emergent technologies. In the light of this pressing need to re-adapt, re-imagine, and re-adjust the educational practices to meet the needs of the students, the aim of this AJET special issue is to explore the practical and theoretical implications of the current developments in ICT, while highlighting the profound impact of COVID-19 on HEIs. Additionally, the purpose of this special issue is to provide an academic discussion around the topics of competency-based education, learning analytics, remote and hybrid lecturing, as well as innovative pedagogical techniques. Shedding light on successful implementations of new teaching models the paper in this issue and provides a road map for HEIs to establish new strategies that benefit the stakeholders
This study explores the perceptions of English language teachers of the use of literature in the context of bilingual secondary education in the region of Madrid (Spain). An approach was adopted under which eighty-one English teacher participants completed a questionnaire so that a quantitative methodological approach of a descriptive – correlational nature could be adopted for this study. Results unveiled teacher perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of using literary texts as a teaching and learning tool, their selection of literary texts and their actual implementation of these texts in their English classes, as well as the training needs for the effective use of literary texts as a language teaching and learning tool in the bilingual EFL secondary classroom. The pedagogical implications of the study emphasize the need to redesign and consolidate teacher training programmes containing literature and innovative teaching aspects both in initial teacher training programmes and for continued training.
The study explores the motivational profiles of Spanish EFL sports science university students from the second language (L2) motivation self system (L2MSS) perspective to ultimately support Spanish higher institutions´ plans committed to improving employability and competitiveness. The study analyzes the relationships between L2 motivation, L2 proficiency, gender, and L2 contextual variables using data from 196 English as a foreign language (EFL) sports science university students. The data reveal that the ideal L2 self construct stands out as the most salient and powerful factor, while the ought-to and rebellious L2 selves are less significant and there are items loading on both of them at the same time. Thus, higher means for the ideal L2 self motivation correspond to higher levels of L2 proficiency and are supported by L2 learning contextual variables. The strongest ought-to L2 self was registered in students with mid-low L2 proficiency and a lack of L2 learning experiences. Meanwhile, the rebellious L2 self is clearly distinguishable only for students with high L2 proficiency. Pedagogical and curricular implications of these findings are that the ideal and the rebellious L2 selves could positively predict students´ L2 proficiency. Thus, new dynamics of education should explore language teaching methodologies that are more likely to enhance students´ ideal and rebellious L2 selves.
Implantamos las metodologías activas de aula invertida y trabajo colaborativo dirigido en la asignatura básica de Química del Grado de Ingeniería Agroambiental en la unidad temática dedicada a los equilibrios de precipitación. Participaron 101 estudiantes en los cursos 2018/2019 y 2019/2020. Los resultados muestran que la combinación de estos dos métodos condujo a resultados de aprendizaje significativamente más altos que la tradicional clase magistral con resolución de ejercicios, y revela una mayor motivación del alumnado. Una adecuada combinación de metodologías activas puede ayudar a que el alumnado sea partícipe de su evolución y logros, tanto en las competencias específicas como en las transversales. Sin embargo, el uso de estos métodos no tuvo incidencia en la tasa de abandono de la asignatura, por lo que es necesario realizar mejoras en su desarrollo como la creación de recursos audiovisuales propios o el aumento de la ratio profesor-alumno
There is a growing interest in educational innovation in universities at a global level, as a tool designed to create strategic changes in order to improve quality. This study evaluates the global improvement in universities as a result of educational innovation governance, as a pillar of the so-called world-class research universities and as a tool for continuous improvement in higher education. The methodology has been designed by different educational innovation groups from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidad de Cádiz, and the International Project Management Association Spanish Board, and includes an analysis of 67 universities from 20 countries. The study is based on 32 universities in Spain, as well as 35 other international universities that carry out educational innovation activity. The results show that universities that have a more mature educational innovation governance in place, both in Spain as well as in other countries, are higher in the ranking of universities (Webometrics). These universities demonstrate a tendency to work on educational innovation projects, which are contributing to strategic changes that will permanently revitalise teaching, whilst also improving research and its links to society
The global pandemic situation posed the challenge of modifying teaching at all educational levels. Higher education (HE) also had to transform its face-to-face learning, to distance teaching. This paper focuses on the faculty membersŽ perception about the sudden change that they had to make to maintain a high-quality teaching in the context of a Spanish technical university. An ad-hoc survey was responded by 577 faculty members. It analyzed the effort and time spent compared to their previous teaching, the use of different ICTs, the difficulties perceived and their preferences of future teaching and training modalities. The faculty show that it has been much costlier than usual, regardless of their age or seniority. There has been progress in ICT knowledge and use, especially for faculty members who have not received prior training, and 57% of faculty members intend to incorporate modifications in their future teaching, such as new resources and materials, after-class questionnaires and distance mentoring. In any case, the older and with higher category faculty are inclined towards the face-to-face format for future teaching, while the younger ones and from initial professional categories bet on digitization to some extent. The online assessment stands out as a great difficulty. Also, the studentsŽ low participation, the greater workload and time spent and the inability to receive feedback from students due to lack of eye or personal contact have been pointed out as the difficulties to carry out adequate monitoring. In short, the digital divide in university teaching has found in the emergency remote teaching an opportunity to promote the improvement of learning, facilitating the revision of pedagogical approaches, updating methodologies and evaluation strategies that will promote the digital transformation of university education.
2020
The use of mobile devices in the classroom is increasingly frequent. However, the LMS are still not completely adapted to this format, preventing students from using all the LMS web-functionalities in their mobiles. Hence, we present and evaluate the use of a new mobile application fully integrated with Learning Management Systems (LMS). We examined access to LMS by 95 postgraduate university students, differentiating between the services accessed and the means used. Students belonged to four consecutive promotions. In the first two, access to the system was through the web, while in the third and fourth, an app fully integrated with the LMS was available. The results showed an overall increase in access to LMS, with a considerable reduction in access via the web in favor of access via the application. Significant differences were found in the access patterns to communication and assessment services depending on the students age, gender, academic major and previous m-learning experience. Satisfaction with the LMS rose when the app was available, with greater growth within the academic major on IT and previous m-learning experience group. Finally, students with high performance accessed the system significantly more than those with low performance. In conclusion, the integration of the app with the system showed useful and efficient results. The app eased the use of the system, increased student satisfaction with LMS, and student performance improved with increased access.
2018
Lecturers, especially those in technical or science degrees, require a basic and continuous training focusing on their skills as teachers in higher education. In order to facilitate the design of these training programs and to define objective criteria to guide the faculty’s individual training, two taxonomies have been established. These are the result of 40 years of teachingtraining experience at the Institute for Educational Sciences of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Two classifications have been agreed on, that depict the training activities and the lecturers’skills. They may be dynamically adjusted facilitating this way the monitoring and offer of the training activities. The skills classification enables the creation of scopeand update coefficients which define a training reference profile at the university, allowing to calculate a fit index. The viability of this index has been confirmed, permitting the generation of individual training recommendations for lecturers.
Nowadays, initial training courses for lecturers are widespread in universities. However, there are not enough research papers that analyze their impact and effectiveness. This paper focuses on the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid’s case. In order to assess if the teaching training received takes effect in the lecturers’daily work, the study has collected data about 198 participants that have finished the Initial Training for University Teaching program. 115 of them answered a survey (adapted from Freixas et al.) analyzing the factors of their training transference. Participants acknowledged the learning value obtained during the program, indicating that they have implemented it in their own teaching practice. They perceive their students’interest, who encourage them to introduce the methodological innovations learnt during their training. On the other hand, they do not perceive support from their departments. They detect lack of support (within the degrees and departments) as well as the lack of provided resources as the main barriers. The weight of tradition on how lecturers face teaching is relevant, restricting the possibilities for changes. Results show very limited institutional recognition to the effort invested in their own training. Nevertheless, participants keep optimistic expectations about the positive assessment of the received training for their teaching career.
2017
The quality of university education has always been a major concern for all participants involved in the teaching-learning process. The ability to objectively analyze the quality of a subject and to diagnose the aspects that have to be improved has become a necessity, and even more, with the arrival of the European Higher Education Area. The subjects that have always been taught in classroom have suffered a substantial transformation, as current methodologies include online support. Besides, there is a major change in the teaching-learning concept, focusing the main role in the student. This entire situation requires new quality models.
2016
The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) represents a challenge to university teachers to adapt their assessment systems, directing them towards continuous assessment. The integration of competence-based learning as an educational benchmark has also led to a perspective more focused on student and with complex learning situations closer to reality. However, its assessment entails an increase in lecturers’workload and a continuous demand for students due to the diversity of assessment tests required to assess each aspect of competences. After a period in which those changes have been introduced, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) considered to analyse the assessment systems and the ways to improve them, at both bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes. The methodology used is based on the model «Working with People», which for the first time at the UPM, creates a participatory process with students and lecturers aimed at knowing their opinion and their feelings about the assessment process and the potential for improvement. Eight WWW-workshops were developed, with 32 students and 39 university teachers in total. The results indicate that the perception of students and lecturers regarding the assessment systems have many common points, as well as the need to undertake an improvement strategy for integrating actions from all three model dimensions, seeking a balance in joint work among lecturers, university administrators and students. This work has been performed within the framework of educational innovations cross-cutting project named «Analysis of the UPM Degree Programmes Evaluation Procedures and Proposal for Improvements»(EVALÚA)», supported by the Educational Innovation Department.
The quality of university education has always been a major concern for all participants involved in the teaching-learning process. The ability to objectively analyze the quality of a subject and to diagnose those aspects that have to be improved has become a necessity, and even more, with the arrival of the European Higher Education Area. The subjects that have always been taught in classroom have suffered a substantial transformation, as new methodologies include online support. Besides, there is a major change in the teaching-learning concept, focusing the main role in the student. This entire situation requires new quality models.
This research explores the incidence of individual and contextual factors on the entrepreneurial intention of engineering students, as they are called to be the founders of new technology-based firms, which are required for the generation of economic growth and employment. A quantitative study comprising 1,004 engineering and architecture students has been conducted, in which both contextual factors (perception of economic-administrative barriers and unemployment rates) and antecedents of entrepreneurial intention from Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour have been examined. Results show that individuals with a high entrepreneurial intention show a favourable attitude towards the behaviour and see themselves capable of undertaking an entrepreneurial behaviour. Perception of social support, although strong, is not such a relevant factor. Regarding contextual factors, these do not discourage individuals with high entrepreneurial intention. Last, the role played by unemployment rates is unclear. Consequently, technical universities and governments, in their social responsibility to foster entrepreneurship in future young professionals, should take these factors into account to promote an encouraging climate for the development of an entrepreneurial spirit.
2015
Choosing a university degree is a relevant process for the personal, social and economic development. This study was designed to explore the students’choice for technical degrees. It is centered on the relationship between the quality of their choice and their motivation, satisfaction and development of professional plans. The inquiry involved an incidental sample of 89 students from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) in Architecture, Computer Sciences and Forestry Engineering. After the analysis of the ad hoc adapted inventory, descriptive data and the results concerning dependence between the variables considered (analyzed with Pearson’s chi-squared test) are presented. Non-parametric tests were used to asses differences on satisfaction by gender and degree studied. Results show dependence between the students’motivation and satisfaction, and the later and their professional plans’content. Gender and degree are also dependent with professional plans’temporality, as well as degree with their structure. No significant differences were found for the means in satisfaction.