Prof. Miguel Valero-García's talk.

Using course projects. A talk by Prof. Miguel Valero- García's, Universitat Politêcnica de Catalunya.

Link in "Formación Educativa," University of Vigo web: http://webs.uvigo.es/webvicfie/ciclo_conferencias/ABP_Miguel%20Valero.pdf

Interesting talk by this specialist on tree courses leading to a degree in computer design. The system is based on the submitting of projects by the students organized in groups. The teaching and the evaluation system tries to create an objective and fair system for all in which sufficient competence and skill must be practically attested. Tests may be used to guarantee than the fundamental items of knowledge have been assimilated by all members of each group. These are formed at random in the first year. In the second year the students are free to associate to create their groups. In the third year membership is assigned by the course supervisor. The system becomes fully efficient once the preliminary basic uncertainties of the first year have been solved. It is a system that can produce big satisfaction, but a high degree of maturity and responsible behaviour on the part of the students is essential. Apart from the problem of the entrance level and basic formation, a certain degree of disorganization, even conflict is expected during the first year until those course participants that show negative or irregular behaviour either settle down or leave the course. I suppose that the organizers and teachers of the degree are supported by their university in their decisions, that the system has been structured, evaluated and tested beforehand and realistically and that the initial motivation of at least a big part of the course participants is high. I also assume that if the courses are based on projects either there is no final free global exam for external students as in the traditional subjects or this kind of students are handled by other teaching staff. It is clear that if you have to combine both a new system and the traditional system a teacher alone or some teachers on their own will not be able to achieve good results in practice even though, of course, they can devise a good and sophisticated system in theory -as a project- that they could start applying in better circumstances.

Why do I write all this in our E-1 blog? Can we use the information I gathered in that lecture 1)to contrast the teaching system commented with the situation in our course -the last First Year English of the Old Philology-, 2) to see wether some of the ideas in the course have already been proposed by us and introduced in our course -structure, methodology, self-study-, 3) to evaluate what the results have been until now and 4) what the main difficulties and the basic goals we must try to achieve for the year are. New ideas are always welcome in a moment of transition in which students must both do the traditional course and get ready for the new university conditions. Prof. Valero, very kindly, made it clear to me that this kind of projects cannot be carried by a single individual; they must be the result of the work of a coordinated team to produce positive results. Let's wait for next year then!

This vacation is a good moment to think of all the positive and negative things that have been achieved until now. After this break there are six weeks left. We must work hard to achieve the best results we can get.

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P.S.

Prof. Valero-García mentions the potential danger of "the Pygmalion effect" in class. I've reviewed some basic English Philological encyclopaedic knowledge -you know, Bernard Shaw, My Fair Lady- and I agree with him absolutely. The old Phonological enthusiasm depicted in this short fragment from the well-known movie could be potentially dangerous!

The rain in Spain falls in/on the plain. I mean, It rains on the plain in Spain, but the rain stays mainly in the plain!

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An innocent joke based on the word "project."

Some time left for a joke "on personal projects of all sorts." Prof. Grumbles and Prof. Sappho are doomed to meet each other for professional reasons at work. Poor Prof. Grumbles is not a good communicator, he always says something inconvenient. Anyway, he is not specially dangerous!