Abstract:

In evolving the Bologna process, universities at present – and most in particular the University of Alicante in Spain - are immersed in a process of adaptation to the European Space for Higher Education (ESHE). ESHE opens up a world of new opportunities not only emphasizing the student learning path where desired student learning outcomes and professional competencies are identified but also focusing on the essential methodological changes and the fundamental multidisciplinary team-working required to make it work. The University of Alicante Project Based Learning Network (UA-PBL) was created in the University of Alicante in the 2010-11 academic year. It is a research network within the Institute of Education Sciences Networks Projects framework. UA-PBL is formed by four professors and senior lecturers from different backgrounds and expertise belonging to three different departments – Depart. of Spanish Studies, General Linguistics, and Literature Theory; Depart. of Sociology II; and Depart. of Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine & Public Health and History of Science – as well as one senior clerk from the Unit of Rule and Planning of the Academic Management Services. In its first year of life, one of the main aims of UA-PBL was to design and implement learning materials for two new compulsory degree courses planned and created in accordance with the ESHE framework: General Linguistics I and Sociostatistics II. This paper describes the work, challenges, and lessons learnt of members of the UA-PBL network during the 2010-11 academic year.

Keywords:

European Space for Higher Education, Project Based Learning, ECTS, Collaborative Learning, Learning Innovation, University Research and Education Networking.