DIGITAL LIBRARY
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PORTFOLIO OF COMPETENCIES AS FINAL DEGREE PROJECT IN HUMAN NUTRITION AND DIETETICS DEGREE
Catholic University of Valencia San Vicente Mártir (SPAIN)
About this paper:
Appears in: INTED2021 Proceedings
Publication year: 2021
Pages: 4465-4471
ISBN: 978-84-09-27666-0
ISSN: 2340-1079
doi: 10.21125/inted.2021.0910
Conference name: 15th International Technology, Education and Development Conference
Dates: 8-9 March, 2021
Location: Online Conference
Abstract:
Spanish Royal Decree 1393/2007, on the Organization of University Teaching, establishes that the Final Degree Project (FDP) will serve to prove that the student has reached the competences of the degree. Neither the aforementioned Royal Decree nor its implementing regulations use the terms "research" -referring to the type of work to be carried out- nor " FDP evaluation committee" -as a requirement of presentation and defence of the work-. The regulations only provide that the student must prepare and defend a project that ensures that they have acquired the skills for obtaining the Degree (art. 12.3. RD 1393/2007).
The permissiveness that this legal framework offers, together with the verification that the current model of the FDP in the Degree in Nutrition and Human Dietetics - in the style of doctoral theses - does not ensure the acquisition of the skills of the Degree, justifies the implementation of a student portfolio of competencies as a teaching innovation project and offers an opportunity to propose a new design that satisfy such a need.
In order to promote the acquisition of the aforementioned competencies by students of the Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, it is proposed to implement a "student competencies portfolio", through which the student will prove the level of mastery of said competencies. The portfolio will include an organised collection of works and documents, previously selected by the student or carried out throughout the development of the subject FDP that will reflect their process and performance in relation to the competencies to be achieved.
The portfolio will serve as a training tool, allowing the students to become aware of what they have learned, how they have learned it and how they have evolved in the acquisition of skills, gathering evidence that can demonstrate the acquisition of skills and reflecting on them. The development of the portfolio will also have activities throughout the academic year that will reinforce skills that have been developed to a lesser extent throughout the Degree -as it is the case of scientific research-.
This project tries to describe the process of replacing the current FDP model with a tool that shows evidence and results of the student’s achievements in the acquisition of Bachelor's skills, which will help students improve their learning process, as well as understand and reflect on such learning. The aim of this work is to achieve greater monitoring and control over the students’ progress in achieving Bachelor's skills, achieve greater autonomy in the learning and self-assessment process, facilitate the qualification of students by providing uniform and equitable criteria, applicable to all students and optimize the human resources necessary for the development of the FDP.
One of the strengths of the project is the suitability of the team that proposes it as it includes all the necessary aspects to successfully teach the subject: documentation, statistics, methodology and research ethics, legislation, and those of the degree itself. The team members have accredited experience in educational innovation with several award-winning projects in previous calls and presentation at numerous Educational Innovation Congresses. The team has extensive teaching experience in the subjects related to FDP: Biostatistics, Research Methodology, ICTs, both in the degree in which it is intervened and in related degrees such as Medicine and Nursing.
Keywords:
Final Degree Project, portfolio.