Abstract:

The 2020 strategic plan of the Monterrey Institute of Technology, whose main goal as stated in the Educational Model Tec21 is: “to provide an integral formation and to improve the students competitiveness in their field of study by enhancing the skills of future generations in order to develop the required competencies that will transform them in future leaders, capable to deal with the challenges and opportunities of the XXI century”. Additional to the competencies required by each discipline, the students will develop transversal competencies, such as leadership, problem solving skills, teamwork, etc. The aim is to boost a learning experience based on real life situations. It is well known that students can develop their intuition on mathematical modelling, by using physical phenomena during lecturing hours. Several learning techniques have been used lately.

For example:
1) Significant learning (Ausbel, 1963), which is based on four main ideas, learning based on previous knowledge, relations with superior thinking structures, relations with experience, objects or events and affective relations towards knowledge.
2) Learning based on real life experience, which involves all senses during the learning experience and where the student must get fully involved in the process of knowing and making research about particular phenomena.

An educative experience developed at the Monterrey Institute of Technology Campus Estado de México is shown in this work. The experience is based on the implementation of technological tools, such as Geogebra and Mathematica for 3D model printing and designing in sophomore courses of Physics and Calculus. The models developed by the students are shown to have a significant impact on the teaching-learning process, since these allow to illustrate complex concepts of Physics, one-variable Calculus and multivariate Calculus. This approach, offers a different perspective on the teaching experience of exact sciences. Finally, the work of the students is analyzed, and based on several surveys applied to the students as well as the professors that took part in this experience, the results are discussed.

Keywords:

3D modelling, real life based learning, educational model.