Lessons as a tool to combine flip teaching and transversal skills at the UPV: A pilot experience in soil genesis subjects

Abstract

[EN] The potential offered by technologies is a reality that must be addressed and used in the Higher Education environments. Professors must be able to integrate technologies into their sessions and facilitate the work of the skill acquisition. The main objectives of this work are: i) to take advantage of the Lessons tool (PoliformaT) to evaluate the acquisition of transversal competences and, ii) to compare if the use of flip teaching improves its acquisition. In the subject of "Geology, Soil science and Climatology" (Degrees in Agri-Food Engineering and Forestry Engineering), an experience was developed during two academic courses in a population of 169 students on average each year. Through Lessons, a template was designed for the student to work, sequentially and based on their knowledge, a specific activity of soil science. In the activity, the student had to face a practical assumption with 4 options to consider as a response. According to its response the specific skills and critical thinking skill would be evaluated. The first year the students had to carry out the activity autonomously in PoliformaT, but in the second year, flip teaching was applied in the same activity. In that occasion; students had to watch online material and subsequently work on the specific concepts in class. Finally, they had to solve independently the practical case in Lessons, where they were evaluated and feedback was provided. The combination of "skill assessment and flip teaching" promoted that in the second year, 66% of the students acquired an adequate level of critical thinking skill. However, although the first year, 65% of the students also acquired it, it has been detected that in the second year there was an increase of 7% of students that passed from good to excellent acquisition level.