Abstract:

The case study is a well-known method that is often applied in teaching and learning, mainly at the graduate level. A more in-depth implementation of this method allows using a common case study for all, or most of, the courses in a semester (or academic year). This common case study has been consistently used since 2010 at the Master of Science in Planning and Management in Civil Engineering (Universitat Politècnica de València). The goal of this common case study is to develop generic competencies, as well as content coordination and cohesion among the different mandatory courses. A step further is the implementation of the portfolio in order to improve the assessment of each course and its competences. Anyway, for every course an initial statement explains the additional information required as well as the expected outputs and deliverables. Additional coordination is needed in order to succeed; therefore a coordination plan will define a common set of contents that every course will work in an individualized way. For every course a rubric is also designed, with common criteria for all of them. Finally, a guide will indicate the steps that the students have to follow in order to solve the problem, giving clues in some circumstances too. These guides do not want to show the solution to the problem, but a layout that have to be filled out by the student throughout his/her learning process. The paper also describes the contents of some of these guides, as an example.

Keywords:

Case Study, Competence, Guide, Master Degree, Portfolio.