Design, application and assessment of activities to work and evaluate multiple cross-curricular skills using project-based learning with large groups in a Master's Degree in Engineering

Society requires graduates to acquire cross-curricular skills during their education since this type of skills is better valued by employers than even degree-specific skills. Active methodologies to develop skills have been successfully implemented in small groups. In contrast, working and objectively evaluating cross-curricular skills in large groups presents a number of additional difficulties such as excessive workload for teachers, which generates resistance to change and lack of experience. The aim of this study is to design, apply and assess training activities with a large number of engineering students, more specifically 288, who were taking a compulsory subject. These training activities used project-based learning and portfolios to work and evaluate multiple cross-curricular skills. The results show that it is feasible to design and develop training activities applicable in large groups that promote the acquisition of multiple cross-curricular skills, allowing for a significant improvement in the knowledge level of the students, without assuming an excessive workload for students and teachers. The results also show that the extent to which students acquired cross-curricular skills after the activities depends mainly on their previous level, and not so much on the time they devoted to the project. However, time reveals itself as an important factor when it comes to the mastery of skills. Finally, 86% of the students have a positive perception of the methodology employed, indicating that it provides a more applied understanding of the subject.