Analysis of the use and design of rubrics in competency assessment in engineering degrees

Velasco-Martínez, L. C. & Tójar-Hurtado, J. C. (2016). Analysis of the use and design of rubrics in competency assessment in engineering degrees. In F. J. García-Peñalvo (Ed.). Fourth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality. (pp. 177-184). New York, NY.: The Association for Computing MachineryThe defining, implementation and assessment of competencies are challenges for new undergraduate and Master’s degrees which must respond to current education demands. The use of rubrics in universities is considered an instrument of innovation and educational change that transforms assessment practices, both for students and educators. Furthermore, new education, focusing on the development of student competencies, implies a profound modification, not only of assessment approaches, but also of the approach towards education, instruction and teaching. Since their appearance in the university environment, the application of competencies in assessment systems has progressively grown. But, there is yet to be a solid body of knowledge providing evidence of the use of rubrics by educators as assessment instruments. In this study, rubrics have been analysed in 50 educators from the engineering departments of distinct Spanish universities. The rubrics used represent a wide variety of courses and university centres. A comparative analysis allows us to determine how these rubrics are being used (or not) to assess competencies. To do so, the type of works and tasks to which they are applied has been revealed, as well as the technical and pedagogical aspects that are considered by the educators in their design. The results and conclusions allow us to detect the educational needs of the teaching staff that hopes to use rubrics to assess competencies.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Universidad de Salamanca, IUCE, GRIAL, ICP

Los conflictos sobre competencias entre académicos y no académicos en las postrimerías del siglo XVIII: el recurso del escultor Juan Pedro Guisart contra el tallista José Navarro David

The rivalry among the artists trained in the Royal Academies of Arts under the masters instructed in the workshops reveals one of the most disputed questions of the late seventeenth century in Spain. Being constrained to coexist in a period when the academics made use of the privileges of their titles and the guilds struggled to keep their reduced power, a slow and difficult acceptance of the novelty took place as a result of the imposal of official rules which clearly established the differences between the people who practised a liberal art from those with a mechanical task. The litigation of the merited academical sculptor of San Carlos of Valencia Guisart against the Murcian wood carvers headed by Navarro David appeared in this context. The dispute concluded with a favourable verdict for the wood carvers by the Academy of San Fernando, the content of which was explained in a large memorial by Isidoro Bosarte, the secretary of this institution.La rivalidad entre los artistas formados en las Academias de Bellas Artes con los maestros cuyo aprendizaje partió de los talleres artesanales patentiza uno de los problemas más controvertidos que tuvo lugar a finales del siglo XVIII en España. Forzados a convivir en una época en que los académicos abusaban de su título y los gremios luchaban por mantener su ya mermado poder, se produjo una lenta y difícil aceptación de las novedades impuestas por unas normas oficiales que marcaban claramente las diferencias entre quienes practicaban un arte liberal y mecánico. En este contexto se sitúa el pleito de Guisart, escultor académico de mérito por San Carlos de Valencia, contra los tallistas murcianos liderados por Navarro David que concluyó con un dictamen favorable a estos últimos por parte de la Academia de San Fernando, cuyo contenido fue explicado en un copioso memorial por lsidoro Bosarte, como secretario de esta institución

The inverted arches foundation of “la Fábrica de Tabacos”, an University of Seville historic building

El presente trabajo ratifica las conclusiones de un anterior trabajo nuestro publicado por la revista Informes de la Construcción (Vol. 63, nº 521, 2011), referente a la cimentación de la Real Fábrica de Tabacos de la Universidad de Sevilla. Por otra parte, este nuevo trabajo describe las investigaciones llevadas a cabo in situ posteriormente, durante la realización de galerías subterráneas bajo el edificio, y aporta nuevos datos sobre la cimentación de la Fábrica. Las principales conclusiones del presente trabajo son la constatación de la inexistencia de restos arqueológicos anteriores a la construcción del edificio; y el descubrimiento de que la cimentación por zapatas de ladrillo aisladas se complementa con una cimentación reticular profunda, de arcos invertidos que ayudan a las zapatas prismáticas a ampliar sus áreas de contacto con el terreno, al tiempo que acodalan y conectan entre sí las citadas zapatas de ladrillo, evitando asientos diferenciales y reforzando la cimentación frente a movimientos sísmicos.This paper aims to ratify the conclusions of a work first published by the journal Informes de la Construcción (Vol. 63, issue 521, 2011), that described the existence of foundations made of brick, and ruled out the existence of archaeological remains under the foundations of the “Fábrica de Tabacos” of the University of Seville. This new work also describes the researches carried out “in situ” during the excavations of those galleries, which have increased the studied foundations knowledge. The main conclusions of this study are two: the inexistence of underground archaeological remains; and the knowledge of the real foundation, formerly designed as isolated prismatic brick piles, but complemented by lattices of inverted arches that help prismatic foundations to expand their contact areas on the ground. This foundation system is also braced and connected by the brick arches, to avoid differential settlements, and to strength the building against earthquakes

The Use of Rubrics in Higher Education and Competencies Evaluation. Scientific Study about Characteristics of Rating Scales Used by Professors

Competency-based learning in Spain has achieved a reconfiguration of higher education to meet the current demands of training. In this regard, institutions and different university regulations promote a "constructive alignment" of the essential elements from the curriculum (Biggs, 2005), giving to the competencies the role of curricular model which gives coherence to the new design of degrees. In the university context, scoring rubrics are considered an innovation tool to collect evidences of competency acquisition (Baryla, Shelley and Trainor, 2012, White, 2011; Cebrián, 2012; Andradre and Reddy, 2010). Its potential lies in the ability for issuing adjusted valuations about the quality of student’s works in a wide range of subjects or tasks (Blanco, 2008). Regarding the type of rubric, Blanco (2008, 176) notes that "the selection form one kind or another of rubric depends mainly on the use you want to give to the outcomes, that is, if the emphasis is more focused on the formative aspects or on the summative ones. Other factors to consider: the required time, the nature of the task itself or the specific performance criteria which are being observed”. Based in these assumptions it is studied: What kinds of rubrics are used by teacher: analytic (formative) or holistic (summative)? Do professors know the pedagogical and techniques requirements needed to design rubrics?Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The foundation of “la Fábrica de Tabacos”, an University of Seville historic building

Una de las principales obras a llevar a cabo en la rehabilitación del edificio de “La Fábrica de Tabacos” de la Universidad de Sevilla, es la ejecución de galerías subterráneas para el tendido de las instalaciones necesarias para sus nuevos usos. Para poder realizar estas galerías se necesita conocer las dimensiones y tipología de las cimentaciones del edificio, lo que nos podría desvelar la posibilidad de existencia de restos arqueológicos en el subsuelo. El objetivo del presente trabajo persigue, tanto a través del estudio de la historia del edificio como mediante prospecciones, conocer la tipología de sus cimentaciones para determinar las posibilidades físicas de ejecutar dichas galerías, y para deducir de ello la posible existencia de restos arqueológicos que pudieran afectar a las futuras obras a desarrollar por la Universidad de Sevilla. De todo ello se deduce que el edificio se asienta sobre un terreno antiguamente deprimido, que fue además excavado en toda la extensión de su planta, y cuyos cimientos fueron ejecutados desde la rasante inferior como fábricas aparejadas, rellenándose posteriormente el solar hasta la rasante actual mediante la aportación de tierras.One of the main works to be developed by the University of Seville in the building of “La Fábrica de Tabacos” restoration, consists of an underground galleries net to pass by installations and other facilitites for the new uses of this historic building. To execute these galleries, we need to know the dimensions and typologies of the building foundations and also the history of its construction, because it could reveal us the possible existence of archaeological remains. This paper investigates, both through the building history and through some specific underground explorations, the knowledge of this building foundations and the real possibilities to carry out these galleries without archaeological incidences. The building sits on a land formerly depressed and later excavated to the full extent of the plant, and whose foundations were executed from below as walls and pillars, and being later all the plant filled to the ground level by providing current soil

Intangible Cultural Heritage. Tangible opportunities for the development of cathedral museums display

Este estudio reflexiona sobre la riqueza y potencialidad del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial en los museos catedralicios. Las catedrales poseen grandes posibilidades para desarrollar discursos expositivos que den cabida a manifestaciones que cabría reconocer como Patrimonio Inmaterial, según lo define la UNESCO. Se da la circunstancia excepcional -poco común en los museos- de que en sus conjuntos monumentales se desarrollan tales manifestaciones. Los cabildos son los depositarios principales de las prácticas inmateriales y tutelan los bienes muebles e inmuebles asociados. Una mejor gestión de estos recursos puede contribuir a la dinamización de estos museos y conocimiento de sus colecciones.This article reflects on the wealth and possibilities of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in cathedral museums. Cathedrals have a great potential to develop exhibition policies that include intangible heritage elements as defined by UNESCO. Cathedral museums have the exceptional advantage over other museums of housing some of these manifestations within their own walls. Cathedral chapters are the main depositories of these intangible practices and administer the historic properties and artifacts associated to them. A better management of these resources could contribute to improve their cultural impact and to disseminate their collections.Universidad de Granada. Departamento de Historia del Art

Inés Salzillo (1717-1775): una mujer en un taller de escultura del Barroco

Early records on Inés Salzillo (1717-1775), youngest sister of Francisco Salzillo, confirm that she worked in the sculptor’s atelier alongside José Salzillo (1710-1744) and Patricio Salzillo (1722-1800) until she married in 1748. She drew, made clay figures, applied the paint finish to sculptures and provided the model that her brother Francisco used in several devotional figures. We reflect on her life and work in the chain of production that Francisco Salzillo established after the death of his father, the Neopolitan sculptor Nicolás Salzillo (1672-1727). Inés Salzillo collaborated during the crucial years that paved the future of the atelier and established its reputation.Testimonios tempranos sobre Inés Salzillo (1717-1775), la menor de las hermanas del escultor Francisco Salzillo (1707-1783), confirman que trabajó en el taller junto José Salzillo (1710-1744) y Patricio Salzillo (1722-1800), perfilando su cometido hasta su matrimonio en 1748. Resaltan que dibujaba, modelaba, proporcionaba policromía a las imágenes y que Francisco tomó sus rasgos para imágenes devocionales. Se reflexiona sobre su historia de vida y quehacer en la cadena de producción que estableció Francisco Salzillo tras la muerte de su padre, el napolitano Nicolás Salzillo (1672-1727). Inés Salzillo colaboró en años decisivos para dar un nuevo rumbo al obrador y asentar su prestigio

Construction of a questionnaire to know the transparency in the evaluation of the learning of engineering students

Las propuestas metodológicas que surgen del área de convergencia europea plantean la necesidad de promover mayores niveles de participación implicación de los estudiantes en su propio proceso de evaluación. El objetivo del estudio fue validar un instrumento de medición que permitiera evaluar la transparencia de los métodos y las estrategias de evaluación empleadas por los educadores de los grados de Ingeniería. El estudio piloto, aplicado a 50 estudiantes de Ingeniería, ha sido analizado a través de un análisis categorial de componentes principales (CATPCA). Los siete componentes en los que se ha estructurado el modelo muestran tantas dimensiones relevantes que reflejan la estructura factorial del cuestionario: transparencia, modalidades de evaluación, retroalimentación de los docentes, recursos y agentes educativos, procedimientos, estrategias y Pautas; y recursos materiales que usan los educadores.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Transparency in evaluation through the use of rubrics in University subjects

Two key elements of educational innovation in evaluation are student participation and transparency. In both cases rubrics are a powerful resource promoting a transparent and fair evaluation. However, there is still not enough evidence on the levels of student participation in the assessment process. The objective of this study is to ascertain the level of transparency provided by the use of scoring rubrics in university subjects by analyzing the relevant factors that are involved in a more significant and participatory evaluation of learning processes. This research is approached from a qualitative perspective through content analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with higher education institutions in Mexico (n = 22). The results and conclusions show the importance of promoting more transparent evaluative practices in order to acquire true formative evaluation