Active Learning in Electronics Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

The present article presents a selection of different courses’ activities designed to develop the disciplinary and CDIO competences. These activities use the active learning methodology in the classroom and promote learning centered in the students. Two categories of activities are presented, those that take place in introductory courses, and the ones done in advanced courses.

For the introductory ones, the evolution of the Introduction to Engineering course is described, as well as activities that develop the criteria related to group formation and its evolution, ethics, social responsibility, and problem solving among others. In the specific case of the Introduction to Engineering course, the activities are developed in a design and implementation project context. This article shows the evolution of the course during five semesters, and, additionally, the topics chosen for the projects. The previously mentioned activities complement the project and provide elements for the development of disciplinary, interpersonal and problem solving competences.

For the advanced courses, three examples are shown: Design of Digital Systems, Signal and Systems, and Advanced Software for Embedded Systems. Activities in these courses are centered in the disciplinary competences development and in the association of engineering concepts with reality. In all cases, the courses’ evolution is presented, as well as the characteristics and advantages of the new approaches, the way in which students receive these activities, and even an evaluation of the obtained results is done. Finally, the general conclusions will be presented, along with the activities’ and courses orientation’s improvement proposals.

Proceedings of the 12th International CDIO Conference, Turku, Finland, June 12-16 2016