Towards the STEM knowledge homogenization of pre-university students in 21st century MOOC: The Language for Engineering

Abstract

For the past five years, Engineering students from Barcelona School of Civil Engineer in UPC BarcelonaTech have shown that educational intervention in first-year engineering programs can positively affect students’ awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) concepts by introducing students to basics concepts and motivating them to follow next ones. At Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering, also belonging to UPC BarcelonaTech, STEM concepts are strengthen to high school students by means of the Mercat de Tecnologia, (a science fair among schools) and by some recommended but not compulsory propaedeutic courses of basic subjects, carried out the week prior to the official start of university studies. Still, many students entering university show some lacks on theoretical items, particularly those who do not follow the usual way to access to tertiary studies after obligatory secondary education but a parallel and more practical one. In fact, there is a large heterogeneity in terms of the average previous knowledge of every subject as well as in the individual curriculum of each student, since they might have enrolled different courses before entering the university. Due to those lacks, some professors at both aforementioned schools have developed a MOOC oriented to new university students. The designed MOOC is useful in order to improve the basic knowledge of new students regarding these sciences.