TECHNOLOGICAL IMPLEMENTATION WORKSHOPS: A CROSS-CURRICULAR OPTION FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER IN THE UNIVERSIDAD DEL MAR, MEXICO

Abstract

In this paper, we present the experience of an integration project that was developed during the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters of the programs in Environmental Engineering at the Universidad del Mar in Mexico. It consisted of a series of workshops in technology implementations (TIT, for its acronym in Spanish), which were intended to be rendered not as ends in themselves, but as instruments in achieving educational goals. The preparation of students from a holistic perspective was facilitated by encouraging the development of meaningful learning through the integration of an interdisciplinary curriculum and contextualized learning. Specifically, this work gives an account of the development of TIT applied by a generation of ten students who were organized in five pairs. Each chose and justified the construction of a prototype, in this case, a solar oven, a grease separator, an evaporator, a wetland and a biodigester. The teams built, assessed, and implemented operational improvements for each prototype by integrating the knowledge learned in other courses, while discovering new concepts that would be reinforced in subsequent courses, all through their cooperative work.

Key Words: crosscurricular courses, significative learning, educative innovation, environmental engineering.