Abstract:

The shift in the paradigm of university education towards competency-based learning has required a modification of the teaching methodologies. The current regulations demand students to acquire specific skills to succeed in their future professional projects. However, the acquisition of these abilities relies on prior knowledge that can be applied in practice, making it unfeasible to introduce new methodologies without this foundation. Consequently, field experimentation is hindered due to limited teaching hours and the heavy workload of competency-based subjects across various degree programs.

This circumstance is particularly noticeable in the field of Agricultural Engineering at the University of the Balearic Islands, where creating an optimal environment for acquiring these skills poses challenges. The Ministerial Orders CIN/323/2009 and CIN/325/2009 are those who specifically define the competencies required for the degree to fulfil legal professional requirements. The ability to design and install irrigation systems can be found among these competencies. This fact holds considerable significance, given that a suitable professional practice should be translated into an optimization of water use efficiency while maintaining satisfactory levels of crop productivity and quality. In this scenario, sophisticated irrigation water exploitation and management are necessary in the context of limited available water resources and increasing global food demand due to population growth.

A lack of experimentation might be currently taking place in the acquisition process of some of these skills. Thus, in order to address this problem, a new teaching methodology based on learning-by-doing is proposed, specifically redefining the subject Water and Agronomy with a more practical and integrated approach with other subjects in the curriculum. The aim of this study is to propose different strategies to create a suitable environment where the teaching-learning process is enhanced, in which the student is the main agent thereof, and the current problem is offset.

The proposed strategies are based on two main aspects:
a) the comprehensive development of the entire process involved in the design and installation of an irrigation system, encompassing its conception, agronomic sizing, and validation of correct operation, thereby promoting group dynamics; and
b) adopting a teaching role where students explain the processes and characteristics of each proposed scenario to peers from other subjects in the degree program, addressing their questions and concerns.

This approach allows students to synthesise their learning and focus on these sessions.

Keywords:

Learning-by-doing, agricultural engineering, key competencies.