COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TEACHING ENHANCEMENTS PRODUCED BY THE USE OF THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT) IN TWO SUBJECTS OF DIFFERENT SCIENCE DEGREES: SATISFACTION OF STUDENTS

On another paper presented at this conference, we showed the objectives, methodology and academic results obtained in an Educational Innovation Project at the University of Malaga. The innovations were introduced in two subjects: "Structural Determination" of the degree in Chemistry, and "Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering" of the degree in Environmental Sciences. The results of the evaluation of this project are presented here.

The assessment of the success of the teaching-learning experience has been conducted through an anonymous survey performed among the students once the academic year is close to the end. In the poll, the students have to grade from 1 to 5 their satisfaction regarding to different matters introduced in the learning methodology. The poll comprises two sections, the first accounts for the satisfaction of the students with the face-to-face instruction, while the second inquires about their satisfaction with the virtual tutoring tools and their impact over the teaching-learning method followed.

The results regarding to the first section of the poll were quite similar for both subjects. The satisfaction of the students with the teaching aids, lectures, practical classes, tutorial and the procedure followed by the teachers in the assessment of the skills that the students acquired during the course is generally very high. Nevertheless, it is noticeable a significant difference between both subjects in relation to the satisfaction with the physical medium. In this case, the degree of satisfaction of the students of Structural Determination subject was significantly higher than that of the Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering. Perhaps, this difference is due to the number of students enrolled in each one of the two subjects, which in the latter case more than doubles the one in the Structural Determination.

The results regarding to the second section of the poll indicate that the procedural changes introduced were well received by the students. A very high percentage of the students considered that the first stage in the virtual workshops (trying to solve) is useful for the learning process, whereas the usefulness of the third and fourth stages of this activity (peer review and evaluation, and autoevaluation) gets a lower mark. The satisfaction of the students was also very high in the development of the questions and answers database for the quizzes and in the preparation of the reports assigned to each one of the workgroup. However, in this latter collaborative activity, students have preferred the traditional live personal interaction versus virtual meetings, as is evidenced by the low use of the wikis and the group forums available to them.

Acknowledgements:
The teaching team wants to acknowledge the comments and suggestions received from the Servicio de Innovación Educativa (SIE) and the technical assistance for start-up and maintenance of the platform from the Laboratorios Tecnológicos y Enseñanza Virtual (LTEV) of the University of Malaga. We also appreciate the financial support from the Dirección de Secretariado de Formación del PDI de la Universidad de Málaga through the PIE Project 10-050.