Development and Assessment of Key Skills in Undergraduate Students: An action-research experience

Abstract

<p><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Employers look for professionals able to work in a team, able to approach the problems, with the capacity to analyze and resolve problems, under the constant renewal of knowledge and competencies. In this paper, a group of University teachers from different areas of knowledge presents an experience to introduce key employability skills in the higher education students’ curricula. This work has been developed under the action research scope. The first goal was to make an analysis of terms referred to key skills, generating an integrated denomination for each competency. The elaboration of general templates for key skills is proposed here as a useful tool that provides information about development, assessment and marking of each skill. Different types of rubrics and assessment templates, used during this experience, are presented.</span></p>

Exploring Undergraduate Research Projects Success Factors in Muni University, Uganda

“…These skills include; Research Skills (shown in 7). These skills conform to the ones highlighted in the related studies by Tress et al (2005), Follmer et al (2015, Zúñiga (2009), andFernández-Santander et al (2012).…”

“…The paramount issue is the assurance that faculty evaluates research reports in a well-structured manner and with a high level of objectivity which can be best achieved through the use of a standard set of metrics, also known as rubrics (Moskal, 2000). Critical Thinking indicates the ability to analyse, synthesise, and evaluate claims/hypotheses (Fernández-Santander et al, 2012).…”

“…In a study by Follmer et al (2015), some key metrics for grading students' outcomes of undergraduate research-based experiences are mentioned as broad experimental development with research and research activities; specific research-based skills and experiential development; production metrics like publications and conference presentations; openness to collaboration with fellow students and faculty in during execution of research activities and after completion of research; the impact of student pairings on research collaboration; and overall ratings of and satisfaction with research experiences. Based on the above, it has been seen that many studies have highlighted the factors that influence the success of undergraduate research projects generally categorised into four ( 4) key areas of research skills, students' participation, the relevant mentors/faculty advisors and faculty management (Beer & Thompson, 2007;Zúñiga, 2009;Fernández-Santander et al, 2012;Crews, 2013;Follmer et al, 2015;Beer and Thompson, 2017;Maltese et al, 2017).…”

“…More studies need to be done in other universities in Uganda for better and generalised conclusions regarding the success of URPs to be reached. Similar experiences from other teachers and universities would generate a larger amount of data that would help to improve an action-research process Fernández-Santander et al (2012).…”

Significance of Assessment and Communication With the Teacher in the Chemical Technology Learning Process

“…In the modern educational process, students are encouraged not only to master knowledge and skills, but also to engage in professional development activities in order to reflect on their own progress. As is known, many universities offer specific skills in each educational qualification level, to be applied in the context of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) [19]. Communication skills, problem solving, teamwork, information technology, to name a few, are some of the main key skill areas recognized by the lecturers.…”