Abstract:

During the pandemic, many Spanish and European universities undertook an intense adaptation of the academic activity of professors and students. This enormous effort was rewarded by the academic results, whose grades and evaluations were more positive than initially expected, as highlighted by many media outlets. However, the negative impact of confinement on the practical and applied teaching of many subjects is also well known and was particularly significant in experimental, health, and engineering degrees. This impact on the practical training of students in the class of 2020 has yet to be satisfactorily resolved. It is, therefore, necessary to continue to analyze in depth the damage this may have caused to the acquisition of competencies and learning outcomes linked to practical training, which are programmed in numerous subjects in many degree programs. In this regard, some subjects are associated with degrees and master's degrees in Forestry Engineering, Water Engineering, and Environmental Technology Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). In this article, it has been found that in different subjects of these degrees, the grades obtained in the theoretical training of various subjects during 2019-2020 showed an increase of between 18.2% and 77.3% compared to the rest of the courses between 2015-2016 and 2021-2022. However, this article analyses and discusses the impact of confinement on the acquisition of competencies and learning outcomes linked to practical training in these degrees taught at the School of Forestry and Environmental Engineering of the UPM.

Keywords:

COVID-19 confinement, acquisition of competencies, learning outcomes, practical formation, Forestry Engineering, Environmental Engineering.