Análisis de las actitudes visuales y verbales de alumnos noveles de grado de Ingeniería en la Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena

Abstract

The community demands Engineering Schools trained engineers enough, which implies an implicit confidence both in the explicit certification of the specific curricular skills as well as in the generic skills. Among these generic skills are the communication ones in their aspects of perception and expression, both oral and written, which configure the language skills. Typical student of Engineering is accommodated in an active, sensory, visual and sequential learning style, which unconsciously encourages institutions to prioritize the visual aspects of linguistics in the design of the teaching-learning process. This paper presents an investigation of the learning styles at the first year students of the Engineering Degrees of the UPCT, focused on Felder's visual/verbal styles. Their results indicate an intense polarization towards the visual style to the detriment of the linguistic style. This attitude is verified for the requirement in the classroom, the acquisition of information or the capacity of remembrance. Given the relevance of linguistic ability for both meaningful learning and for the professional practice of Engineering, strategies and teaching actions are proposed for balancing this facet of the students' training.