Abstract:

Teaching through Project-Based Learning (PBL), e-learning, and b-learning has been assuming a predominant role in Higher Education Institutions (both nationally and internationally). This shift in teaching and learning practices entails additional and continuous challenges for lecturers, students, and researchers in their academic activities. The concern with innovating teaching and learning approaches, together with the need to motivate all those involved in the educational process, generates a significant impact on the roles played by each participant.

The objective of overcoming such obstacles, as well as the intention to develop and progress in the strategies adopted in the classroom (in any of the modalities and/or contexts), gave rise to the initiative of applying a knowledge transfer methodology based on three stages, namely:
(1) Understanding, defining and observing different points of view,
(2) Brainwriting, and
(3) Evaluating and creating the prototype.

To assess the students’ progress and engagement throughout each stage, nine focus groups were conducted (12 participants each, three per stage). The initiative was implemented at the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology (ESTM) in Peniche (Portugal), in two curricular units (2nd year) of the Bachelor’s degree in Food Engineering (delivered in PBL mode), in one curricular unit of the Master’s degree in Sustainable Tourism Management (delivered in e-learning mode), and in one curricular unit of the Master’s degree in Quality and Food Safety Management (delivered in b-learning mode). It is worth noting that all curricular units in which the methodology was applied belong to the scientific area of Mathematics and Statistics. The results obtained indicate that, by working through the curricular content following this trajectory, students were able to achieve a “final product” capable of responding innovatively to the initially identified needs, while also enabling the sharing of ideas, reflection, and discussion—without disregarding the knowledge acquired or the goal of succeeding in their assessment. Furthermore, knowledge transfer in an area generally considered “unappealing” by students resulted in deeper engagement, improved performance, and, above all, recognition of this methodology as a “good practice” in teaching and learning.

Keywords:

Project-Based Learning (PBL), Teaching and Learning Methodologies, Knowledge Transfer, Higher education.