Curriculum Integration by Projects: Opportunities and Constraints A Case Study in Systems Engineering

Abstract The Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica is making significant efforts to improve the professional performance of graduates in order to respond to society and industry needs. In particular, the School of Informatics has been exploring the opportunities to implement, through the use of a pedagogy oriented to problems and projects, a curricular integration between diverse areas of knowledge in the curriculum. From this perspective and with the aim of integrating the areas of programming, databases and systems engineering, an initial exploratory study was carried out with faculty members and a group of students from the fourth level of the curriculum. The findings show several limitations, such as mismatches between the course contents, lack of faculty commitment to collaborative work and student resistance. They also show the need of establishing strategies to create, from the early years of the curriculum, the necessary conditions to promote a positive attitude towards curricular integration processes and therefore overcome, at least partially, the identified limitations

Design considerations for introducing PBL in computer engineering

Nowadays, universities are driven to adopt pedagogical approaches that enable them to better meet the needs of the new generation of students and industry. This article presents an ongoing experience in innovating the computer engineering curriculum through a problem-based and project-oriented learning approach to develop skills such as problem solving, effective communication, teamwork and lifelong learning, which are increasingly demanded by employers and society. The investigation determined an initial set of design principles that can be used to guide an implementation strategy of the approach. The methodology allows continuous evaluation and refinement of the design. The findings so far point to a number of obstacles, from student, teachers and management, which must be overcome to achieve an effective result.Hoy en día, las universidades están impulsadas a adoptar enfoques pedagógicos que les permitan satisfacer mejor las necesidades de la nueva generación de estudiantes y la industria. Este artículo presenta una experiencia continua en la innovación del plan de estudios de ingeniería informática a través de un enfoque de aprendizaje basado en problemas y orientado a proyectos para desarrollar habilidades como la resolución de problemas, la comunicación efectiva, el trabajo en equipo y el aprendizaje permanente, que son cada vez más demandados por los empleadores y la sociedad. La investigación determinó un conjunto inicial de principios de diseño que se pueden utilizar para guiar una estrategia de implementación del enfoque. La metodología permite la evaluación continua y el refinamiento del diseño. Los hallazgos hasta ahora apuntan a una serie de obstáculos, por parte de los estudiantes, los profesores y la administración, que deben superarse para lograr un resultado efectivo.Universidad Nacional, costa RicaEscuela de Informátic