The application of Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) has increased in higher education institutions, fostering student transversal competencies, knowledge of sociotechnical problems, and collaboration...

/pdf/challenge-based-learning-in-higher-education-an-exploratory-39gdkjwugr.pdf

Challenge-based learning in higher education: an exploratory literature review

Since 2013, the Tecnologico de Monterrey has been implementing the Tec21 Educational Model, which promotes student participation under the challenge-based learning framework. This places students in challenging, and interactive learning experiences. One of the central proposals of the Tec21 model is the posing of challenges to the student so that he/she develops disciplinary and cross-disciplinary skills. In this paper, we report the results of four learning experiences based on challenges where students from Mechanical, Mechatronics and Sustainable Development Engineering undergraduate programs were immersed into real-life challenges of three different world-leading companies (namely Boehringer Ingelheim, Covestro and Becton–Dickinson). These challenges were designed by personnel from the companies and professors from Tecnologico de Monterrey. Skills required in these work places, such as work collaboration, critical thinking, ethics and resilience, were compared with those developed under a school-controlled environment. Our results demonstrated that a CBL experience with an industrial partner increases complexity and uncertainty levels. Consequently, the development of skills is consistently higher compared to learning delivered via traditional methods. In our experimental set up, the learning modules were designed to achieve the goals of both the company and the school. The challenges brought forth issues such as ethical dilemmas, valorization, design planning, scientific methodology and recycling options of solid waste products. We analyzed the resilience of the students to failure, their solutions to the challenges and the knowledge acquisition from the contents of every single learning module. The main difference between having a school-controlled challenge and a highly undefined challenge developed at an industrial plant is the level of uncertainty about solving the problem(s). A lot of factors were evident in our study; for example, cross-disciplinary skills, such as teamwork (collaboration), critical thinking, ethics, problem-solving, planning ahead and resilience were observed. Our results demonstrated that having an industrial partner in the Challenge-Based-Learning experience is essential to increase the complexity of the challenge and the uncertainty level, and it helps dramatically in exposing students to real-life professional problems that need to be solved.

Challenge based learning: the importance of world-leading companies as training partners

An Educational Innovation approach denominated, “I-semester,” for Mechatronics Engineering students was designed, implemented and evaluated. The teaching–learning concept applied herein is interactive, experiential, motivates students and encourages their creativity to provide solutions to real-world challenges. Within the frameworks of competency-based education (CBE) and challenge-based learning (CBL), learning experiences were designed consisting of educational modules and challenges focused on developing disciplinary and transversal competencies during an academic semester. The modules provided theoretical and practical knowledge, whereas challenge activities promoted the development of competencies and the generation of creative–solution proposals. This educational research effort included a formal methodology that started with a problem statement and a hypothesis, followed by the method and an experiment that consisted of the I-semester implementation with a sample of students enrolled in the Mechatronic Engineering program at Tecnologico de Monterrey. The methodology, the development of the experiment and the findings through the analysis of gathered data could contribute to educational research focused on CBE–CBL approaches in educational programs for undergraduate engineering students.

Challenge-based learning: an I-semester for experiential learning in Mechatronics Engineering

Currently, there is great concern about the increasing percentage of school dropouts at all school levels, therefore student engagement has been at the center of the discussion of the use, design and implementation of innovative teaching techniques that promote student interest, awaken passion for the discipline of each program and through educational activities decrease the percentage of desertion in undergraduate studies. The Tec21 model, implemented at the Tecnologico de Monterrey, aims to reduce school dropout through the acquisition of new knowledge through the resolution of real-life challenges. Here we report on a learning experience based on the Tec21 model for students of the Biotechnology Engineering program who were taken out of the school to the Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference Institute and exposed to solve challenges related to the analysis of nucleotide sequences of genomes of current infectious germs. Study modules to support the solution of the challenges were designed to boost transversal competences such ethics, collaborative work, resilience and critical thinking. Analyses of achievement indicators, such as learning gain, and a student engagement survey showed that this active learning experience was 20 to 40% more efficient than that of students who remained in traditional classroom education. Interestingly, the academic challenge, the active learning, the staff-student interaction, the enriching educational experience, the supportive learning environment and work interacting learning, were also considerably higher. Our results support the idea that student achievement is directly linked to engagement and demonstrated that having a Challenge Based Learning experience helps to increase student’s commitment.

Student Engagement Outside the Classroom: Analysis of a Challenge-Based Learning Strategy in Biotechnology Engineering

A challenge based learning experience in forensic medicine.

Recently, The Tecnologico de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico has launched the Tec21 Educational Model. It is a flexible model in its curriculum that promotes student participation in challenging and interactive learning experiences. At the undergraduate level, one of the central scopes of this model is addressing challenges by the student, to develop disciplinary and cross-disciplinary skills. Two institutional strategies have been implemented to reach the ultimate goal of the ITESM, to work in all careers under the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) system: the innovation week (i-week) and the innovation semester (i-semester). Here we report on the results of four i-week and one i-semester models implemented in 2016. The i-semester was carried out in conjunction with a training partner, the worldwide leader Pharmaceutical Company Boehringer Ingelheim. Thirteen Sustainable Development Engineering career students were immersed for a 14 week period into the strategies to solve real-life challenges in order to develop the contents of four different courses. Six teachers of the academic institution and four engineers from the Boehringer plant served as mentors. Continuous evaluations were carried out throughout the abilities examination and partial and final examinations were performed by both experts, from the company and from the University.

Challenge Based Learning: The Case of Sustainable Development Engineering at the Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus

/pdf/challenge-based-learning-the-case-of-sustainable-development-o15ayj1a9r.pdf

Ricardo Ganem-Corvera

Papers

Challenge Based Learning: The Case of Sustainable Development Engineering at the Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus

Challenge-based Learning: The Case of Sustainable Development Engineering at the Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus