Teaching and learning across disciplines : student and staff experiences in a newly modularised system

Within modular degrees it is sometimes possible for students to broaden their education by taking modules from outside their main programme of study. This is one significant aspect of modular degrees which has not been studied. In an effort to better understand this issue, the research reported in this paper explored the experiences (a) of students taking modules from outside their programme of study and (b) of staff teaching modules with significant numbers of students from other programmes. In total, 820 undergraduate students responded to an on-line survey; 12 academic staff members participated in interviews. The survey focused on students’ reasons for choosing the module, their experiences of assessment and their perceptions of workload. Interviews with academic staff focused on the influence of non-programme students on teaching and assessment practices. The discussion addresses the implications of student choice and classroom diversity for teaching and assessment in modular systems.Other funderStrategic Innovation FundEmbargo until May 2012 - AV 27/10/2010 ke - AS 04/11/2010 MD done - OR 10/11/201

Evaluación de la estrategia pedagógica "aprendizaje basado en proyectos": percepción de los estudiantes Evaluation of the pedagogical strategy "project-based learning": perception of the students

El propósito de este trabajo es mostrar la percepción que tienen los estudiantes del programa de Ingeniería Agrícola de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, sede Medellín sobre la evaluación y el desarrollo de la estrategia pedagógica "aprendizaje basado en proyectos", utilizada en diferentes cursos teórico-prácticos. Esta estrategia consiste en adquirir el aprendizaje del curso por medio de la elaboración y desarrollo de un proyecto durante el semestre académico. El proyecto contribuye a la transferencia del conocimiento de los principios teóricos presentados en clase, al desarrollo del pensamiento crítico y reflexivo, e incentiva el interés por la investigación. El análisis de los resultados de la encuesta aplicada a los estudiantes que participaron en esta experiencia pedagógica, mostró que el aprendizaje basado en proyectos es importante para su desarrollo profesional y cumple con sus expectativas educativas. La mayoría de los encuestados afirman que se aplicaron los conceptos vistos en clase durante el desarrollo del proyecto, la metodología propuesta fue la adecuada, y estuvieron de acuerdo con la valoración final del proyecto y el tiempo dedicado a la parte experimental.<br>The purpose of this study is to show the perception of the agricultural engineering students from Universidad Nacional de Colombia on the evaluation and performance of the pedagogical strategy called "project-based learning", involved in different theoretical-practice courses. This model consists of a learning strategy through the implementation of a project during the academic semester. The project contributes to the transfer of theoretical concepts, the development of critical and reflexive thinking, and to the increase of interest in research and investigation. The survey results from the students who participate in this pedagogical experience showed that project-based learning is important for their professional development and achieves their educational expectations. Most of the students affirmed that the information learned in class was applied during the project development, the methodology was suitable, and the final assessment of the project and the experimental time were adequate