Abstract:

Nowadays, learning methodology is usually based on coordinated theoretical and practical lessons in some Agronomic pre-graduate courses. The practical lessons are very useful to clarify and consolidate theoretical knowledge, but it would be interesting to amplify their use together with the inclusion of scientific research.

Learning by knowledge areas has been traditionally developed in such a way that the students learn in each subject-specific knowledge in an isolated manner, without interconnection. We aimed to promote both Learning based on Scientific Research and Learning based on Challenges in three subjects in Animal Production courses (Reproduction, Genetics and Nutrition) at the Technical University of Madrid.

For this purpose, in the Reproduction area, students collected real data from a rabbit experimental population (animals handling, assessment of breeding animals, synchronization and artificial insemination, pregnancy diagnosis and parturition management) and from in vitro techniques (ovum-pick up, flushing oviductal) assessed in the laboratory. Also, they studied how a breeding program works with a specific selection objective in the Genetic subject. Besides, in Nutrition experimental trials with pigs were performed, in which the dietary chemical composition, feed intake and weight of animals at different physiological status or growth phases were used to calculate productive performance traits and feed efficiency, in order to compare different nutritional programs.

At the end of practical lessons related to the Reproduction subject, students (either alone or in groups) wrote a scientific report to be evaluated in the “workshop activity module” of Moodle, which was scored using a multicriteria assessment form defined by the teacher. Each report obtained two grades: one for their submission and the other for their assessment of their peer’s submissions. In the subject of Genetics and Nutrition, at the end of the course, most students presented their scientific reports works in the classroom as oral presentations that were scored by the teacher. Finally, to promote scientific communication, some students presented their reports in a Congress especially aimed at pre-Graduated Agronomic Engineering Students.

The relationship between the scores obtained in the workshops and in the oral presentations that helped students to approach scientific research and communication and those reached in the final theory exams were tested by regression analysis to determine whether this methodology has succeeded.

Keywords:

Researching, innovative teaching-learning process, workshop, higher education, animal production.