Abstract:

After two decades of the Bologna declaration seeking to build the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the State members have traversed a long process of reforms and convergence of their respective higher education systems. Within this framework, from year 2008 the new Spanish degrees in Industrial Engineering have been imparted according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) looking for understanding, compatibility, quality assurance with the final objective of facilitating the mobility and employability of the engineering students in Europe. The implementation of ECTS has involved a profound change both in the syllabus of the degrees taught at the University and in the nature of the teaching-learning process, where the student acquires the leading role in the process and more situated learning, competence-based learning and practical work should be developed in contrast to plain knowledge transmission through master lectures.

This transformation is somehow profoundly influenced by the body of knowledge in each specific area of study, the epistemology and foundation of each particular specific discipline, where the tradition in the way of doing of the academia could show a certain reluctance to change or a biased direction in the transformation.

In this piece of research, a global analysis of the actual sate of the teaching-learning process in the area of Fluid Mechanics in the bachelor and master degrees of industrial engineering of the Spanish University is performed. The study identifies the two main core subjects of the discipline: “Fluid Mechanics” (FM) and “Fluid Facilities and Machinery” (FFM), and it reviews the curriculum of 53 teaching guides (27 FM and 26 FFM) taught in 20 different Spanish Universities.

From the content of the individual teaching guides, specific information and data on the following topics are extracted:
- Dedication: ECTS distribution in bachelor and master degrees.
- Basic programme content and structure: regular basic topics and optional specific topics.
- Methodology: type tasks and activities developed (situated learning versus master lecture, individual versus cooperative tasks), teaching-learning resource materials, use of hands-on practical activities (instructional laboratories).
- Assessment: continuous evaluation versus final exam, formative versus summative evaluation.
- Learning outcomes: acquisition of basic knowledge on the discipline, application of the knowledge to solve problems, experimental analysis, cooperative work, communication of results.

A critical analysis of the main trends in the above topics is performed by identifying strengths and weaknesses in relation to the use of active learning techniques. As a consequence of the analysis of the current situation, some indications about particular measures to transform, improve and/or reinforce in the average current teaching-learning process in the area of Fluid Mechanics are addressed with the final aim of achieving the expected practical skills of graduated engineers in this particular discipline.

Keywords:

Teaching-learning process, Fluid Mechanics, curriculum design, engineering.