A MENTORING STRATEGY TO EQUALIZE UNDERGRADUATE'S GRAPHICALLY CAPABILITY AT CIVIL ENGINEERING DEGREE

The current paper presents the results obtained after a mentoring activity developed for the first course in a Civil Engineering Degree in a Spanish University. This activity arises as a solution to the very different prior training of first year students in graphic expression. The activity was based on the resolution of problems of Dihedral system. For that, students are organized in small groups composed by a captain and two pupils. Each problem is divided in two statements, at the first statement, a problem is solved by the team's captain, this role is assumed by a student with good training in technical drawing, and a second problem, similar to the first, is solved by the other components of the group but with the guided and a previous explanation by the captain. At the end of the activity, a poll was conducted to all the students to assess the outcome. Generally, students assessed the activity positively, considering the support received by the captain. In the other hand, the captains appreciated the fact of dealing with a problem and understand it well enough to explain it to their groups.