Is It a Good Idea for Chemistry and Sustainability Classes to Include Industry Visits as Learning Outside the Classroom? An Initial Perspective

Analysis of Competency Assessment of Educational Innovation in Upper Secondary School and Higher Education: A Mapping Review

Despite the plethora of studies reported during the last decade in relation to educational innovation in teaching and assessment of competencies, a consensus is seemingly lacking on a definition that establishes the scope and boundaries competency assessment. This research gap motivated a systematic review of the literature published on the topics of “educational innovation in teaching” and “assessment of competencies” in upper secondary and higher education during the period from January 2016 to March 2021. The main objective of the study was to define and evaluate educational innovation in teaching and assessment of competencies in upper secondary and higher education following PRISMA guidelines for a systematic literature review (SLR) on a curated corpus of 320 articles. We intended to answer the following questions: (1) What do “educational innovation in teaching” and “assessment of competencies” represent for upper secondary and higher education? (2) How are they evaluated? Lastly, (3) are efforts exerted toward the standardization of transversal competencies? The SLR seeks answers to these questions by examining nine research sub-queries. The result indicated that the greatest effort toward educational innovation in competencies was made at the higher education level and targeted students. Competencies were revised through associations with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. In addition, the methodologies used for teaching and evaluation of competencies were reviewed. Finally, the study discussed which technologies were used to develop the proficiencies of students.

Excel Methods to Design and Validate in Microelectronics (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor, CMOS) for Biomedical Instrumentation Application

CMOS microelectronics design has evolved tremendously during the last two decades. The evolution of CMOS devices to short channel designs where the feature size is below 1000 nm brings a great deal of uncertainty in the way the microelectronics design cycle is completed. After the conceptual idea, developing a thinking model to understand the operation of the device requires a good “ballpark” evaluation of transistor sizes, decision making, and assumptions to fulfill the specifications. This design process has iterations to meet specifications that exceed in number of the available degrees of freedom to maneuver the design. Once the thinking model is developed, the simulation validation follows to test if the design has a good possibility of delivering a successful prototype. If the simulation provides a good match between specifications and results, then the layout is developed. This paper shows a useful open science strategy, using the Excel software, to develop CMOS microelectronics hand calculations to verify a design, before performing the computer simulation and layout of CMOS analog integrated circuits. The full methodology is described to develop designs of passive components, as well as CMOS amplifiers. The methods are used in teaching CMOS microelectronics to students of electronic engineering with industrial partner participation. This paper describes an exhaustive example of a low-voltage operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) design which is used to design an instrumentation amplifier. Finally, a test is performed using this instrumentation amplifier to implement a front-end signal conditioning device for CMOS-MEMS biomedical applications.

Comparing Competency Assessment in Electronics Engineering Education with and without Industry Training Partner by Challenge-Based Learning Oriented to Sustainable Development Goals

This study assessed the “creation of technological solutions for electronic devices” competencies evaluation when faculty–industry liaison is available. This experience at Tecnológico de Monterrey (TEC) was developed with challenge-based learning provided by the automotive electronics industry addressing subjects oriented toward some objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Electronics Engineering faculty and project engineers from automotive electronics and instrumentation companies promote design competencies in college students. This study analyzed the competency performance and outcome results of students who took applied electronics courses for the undergraduate level under the “i-Semester with industrial partner” for one semester and compared results with students that took the course under the traditional program. The competence evaluation was classified into three preliminary domain levels: 1 or low-level, 2 or medium-level, and 3 or high-level. Students were exposed to the conceptual, procedural, and attitudinal contents applied to solve the challenge assigned by the industrial partner. Students with an industrial partner showed a higher engagement, and they were more motivated in learning the subject, compared to students having classes in the traditional way. This study showed that in developing the competency “create technological solutions for electronic devices”, 55 students with an industrial partner obtained higher domain levels than 61 students with the traditional course.

Evaluation of Emergency First Response's Competency in Undergraduate College Students: Enhancing Sustainable Medical Education in the Community for Work Occupational Safety

Worldwide, people’s quality of health has been decreasing due to bad eating habits that have generated an increase in diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, overweight, as well as an increase in hours of the daily workday and stress. This situation can generate sudden illness and work accidents where the need to have knowledge in emergency first response (EFR) is necessary for all. Unfortunately, workshops and courses to certify EFR individuals are usually taught only to healthcare professionals. Therefore, to address this need a EFR project has been developed at the Tecnológico de Monterrey (TEC) which consists of a multidisciplinary challenge to train, certify, and evaluate students’ competency as “emergency first responders” in medical emergencies and healthcare awareness. This EFR project has been performed for one week, every year since 2015, and constitutes a joint venture among academic departments, faculty, and industrial/government institutions, which work together in multidisciplinary projects, providing a source of innovative proposals. The EFR project at TEC has provided instruction and certification for 966 students between 2015 to 2019 and this study has analyzed results considering a sample size of 197 participants. The combination of exam evaluation, medical emergency skills verification, and project proposal results indicate that most students reach skill levels between 2 and 3 in EFR competency after successfully completing the program, regardless of their year of study or the undergraduate program they are enrolled on. This evaluation emphasizes the compromise of the institution and its students in preparation for new living under sanitary conditions for pandemic conditions such as COVID-19.