DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A METHODOLOGY FOCUSED ON PROJECT-BASED LEARNING (PBL) TO IMPROVE TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCE IN LEARNING/TEACHING OF THE SUBJECT OF GRAPHIC EXPRESSION

Learning can be considered as the result of an individual, who is continuously active and interactive with the environment. The environment of education has an immense influence in learning/teaching. Accordingly, innovation experience in the process of learning/teaching is becoming a key factor to carry out. In this sense, the work proposed focuses particularly on one of the thematic lines, the Project-Based Learning (PBL) specially using modern technology, designed and implemented in a technological environment. Thus, it is an action to consolidate the Higher Education Area of Europe (HEAE) in the University of Extremadura (UEx). Therefore, educational innovation we developed in this project aims at improving transversal competence in the learning/teaching of engineering subjects in undergraduate level. All the innovation team members presenting this proposal are working at the Department of Graphic Expression.

Although the PBL methodologies as innovative actions are included in the classrooms for years, we believe that the methodologies can be an innovative project and even together with technological tools are more effective in order to develop students’ cognitive, metacognitive, practical, emotional and social skills. Thus, the proposed project is designed, developed and implemented beyond the classroom that it has an application in real world and is realized from the constructivist point of view. The proposal works for developing an innovative learning/teaching of the PBL projects using information technologies, allowing students to acquire skills, abilities and to integrate theoretical and practical engineering knowledge related with Engineering Degree. The general objective is related to the general skills acquired by students (Order ECI/3854/2007, December 27). Concentrating on subjects that are in the area of Graphic Expression, the competences will be acquired with this project (R.D. 1393/2007 and UEX Guidelines).

Therefore, the PBL can be defined as a learning/teaching strategy that achieves several goals through the implementation of a series of actions, didactic interventions or resources. An active methodology establishes the search of an intelligent solution to problem-posing or related task in everyday life. Concretely, in current work we address the PBL on Moodle from different perspectives and learning/teaching strategies according to the contents of the subject “Graphic Expression (Expresión Gráfica)” at undergraduate level.