Abstract:

A joint coordinated project including four out of the five subjects of second semester of the second year of the Bachelors’ Degree in Agrifood and Rural Engineering (DARE) at Universitat Jaume I was carried out. A similar project covering three of these subjects (“Crop Protection”, “Ecology and Environmental Impact” and “Topography”) was implemented the previous year and this was the basis for the new approach. This time “Business” was the new subject included in the project and our main goal was to achieve a holistic and multidisciplinary teaching strategy covering all common competences included in that semester of DARE. The project was centered in three crops (almonds, tomatoes and palm trees) and had as a starting point a visit to three different farms directly related to each selected crop.

The positive feedback received from the students the previous year allowed us to include the following improvements:
1) periodical coordination meetings between the professors involved in the four subjects;
2) elaboration of a new unified guideline developed on purpose for the project;
3) a team size reduction from 11 to less than 7 members; and
4) the inclusion of different languages (Spanish, Catalan and English) in the written report and oral presentation.

These modifications increased the realism of the project, making it closer to the professional environment that students will have to face when finishing their studies. Tutorial sessions between professors and students were organized to guide the activities and receive feed-back information. Subsequently, students had to produce a written report and an oral presentation on the activities developed. These changes forced a better coordination of all professors involved, with a higher degree of integration of the topics considered. As a result, the satisfaction of students increased.

Keywords:

Joint Educational Project, Team work, Sustainability, Agriculture.