Abstract:

Today, many students lack motivation when they start their university education, due to the currently limited career prospects for graduates and due to classic teaching methodologies not really aimed at getting students’ attention and subsequently enhancing their motivation. This demotivation is particularly conspicuous in modules which, not primarily focusing on the main competences of a given degree, are equally necessary for students’ training. This is the case of Chemistry as a module within the Dregree in Mechanical Engineering, which is devoted to the teaching of general chemistry as virtually the only course in this subject along their university years. These situations, more than ever, require active training in order to motivate students. In a pioneering teaching innovation project, undertaken at the University of Huelva and the University of Cadiz, sensory analysis is used as a pedagogical tool in order for students to familiarize with new concepts of analytical chemistry, such as sensitivity, calibration, and validation, and fully grasp this terminology in an enjoyable but didactic way.

Keywords:

Sensory Analysis, pedagogical Tool, Analytical Chemistry.