WIP: Pre-University Learning Experiences and Their Impact on University STEM Teaching

David Lopez; Raúl López Sánchez; Josep Fernandez

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: Faculty Development Works in Progress Session 2
Tagged Division: Faculty Development Division (FDD)
Page Count: 8
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/57435

Paper Authors

biography

David Lopez Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya

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Dr. David López (Barcelona, Spain, 1967). He has a degree and PhD in Computer Science (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - UPC, 1991 and 1998). Beyond his technical training, he holds a Postgraduate Degree in East Asian Art and Societies (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2008). His specialties more related to his technical background include computer architecture and structure with special emphasis on storage devices, input/output and organization of Data Processing Centres. His other specialties are engineering education and the relationship of technology with sustainability, ethics and human rights.
Since 1991 he has been working as a lecturer in the Department of Computer Architecture at the UPC (Barcelona, Spain), where he has been a associate professor since 2001. He has been a consultant for the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. His thesis dissertation was about architecture design, optimization and numerical code compilation. Since 2004 he has made engineering education and its relationship with ethics and sustainability his main research topic, with more than one hundred and fifty scientific and press papers published in these years. He has participated in a dozen research projects funded by various entities, including the Spanish government and the European Economic Community.

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Raúl López Sánchez Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya orcid.org/0000-0002-5175-4596

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Mr. Raúl López Sánchez holds a degree in Computer Engineering (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2010) and a Technical Engineering degree in Management Informatics (Facultat d’Informàtica de Barcelona, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2002). His professional career has been primarily focused on teaching, particularly in secondary and vocational training education. Since 2019, he has served as an associate lecturer at both the Institute of Education Sciences and the Facultat d’Informàtica de Barcelona of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). His main area of research is Education in Engineering, Science, and Technology, with several publications in this field.

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Josep Fernandez Barcelona School of Informatics - Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech orcid.org/0000-0001-9318-3317

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Dr. Josep Fernandez holds a Master’s degree in Informatics from the Facultat d’Informàtica de Barcelona and a PhD in Informatics from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). His academic background includes specialization in computer engineering, perception systems, and robotics.

Following professional experience in both public and private sectors, he joined the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in 1989. He currently teaches at the Barcelona School of Informatics at UPC, delivering courses in robotics, embedded systems, and educational research.

He has also held leadership roles within the UPC, having served as Dean of the Facultat d’Informàtica de Barcelona (2017-2025).

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Abstract

This work in progress aims to analyze the educational tools and methodologies used in pre-university education, with the goal of providing university faculty with a clear understanding of the educational background of students in STEM fields. This includes the projects they have been involved in, the resources they have used, and the most effective methodologies. Additionally, this work aims to identify and highlight existing networks within the surrounding educational system (omitted for blind revision). This will allow university instructors to consult and draw inspiration from these networks to enhance their own teaching practices. Motivation: In recent years, educational innovation has experienced significant growth, driven by the need to adapt teaching to current demands. New methodologies are being implemented that promote active student participation, while shifting the teacher’s role toward that of a facilitator. This change in the educational paradigm responds to the need to move away from traditional methods, where the teacher was the central figure, and students played a passive role, focused on memorizing content. Now, skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving have become key elements to be developed. While universities are adopting these new methodologies, it is essential to consider the students' previous experiences. Many students have already encountered these methods in primary and secondary education. This presents a challenge for university faculty, as some students transition from active learning environments to more traditional, passive ones. Therefore, university instructors must adapt their strategies to accommodate students who are already familiar with active learning methodologies. As preliminary results, we found that the most commonly used methodologies in our country (omitted for blind revision) are project-based learning (PBL), gamification, and service-learning. There are networks and programs that have been implementing these innovative methodologies in primary and secondary education classrooms for years. These initiatives have enabled many students to enter university with substantial experience in these pedagogical techniques. For future work, a study will be conducted with STEM students to identify the methodologies they have encountered both before and during their university studies. The study will also examine whether they perceive differences in their motivation and learning due to the use of more traditional methodologies. The work would be presented as a Lightning talk

Citation
Format

Lopez, D., & López Sánchez, R., & Fernandez, J. (2025, June), WIP: Pre-University Learning Experiences and Their Impact on University STEM Teaching Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/57435

TY - CPAPER
AB - This work in progress aims to analyze the educational tools and methodologies used in pre-university education, with the goal of providing university faculty with a clear understanding of the educational background of students in STEM fields. This includes the projects they have been involved in, the resources they have used, and the most effective methodologies. Additionally, this work aims to identify and highlight existing networks within the surrounding educational system (omitted for blind revision). This will allow university instructors to consult and draw inspiration from these networks to enhance their own teaching practices.
Motivation: In recent years, educational innovation has experienced significant growth, driven by the need to adapt teaching to current demands. New methodologies are being implemented that promote active student participation, while shifting the teacher’s role toward that of a facilitator. This change in the educational paradigm responds to the need to move away from traditional methods, where the teacher was the central figure, and students played a passive role, focused on memorizing content. Now, skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving have become key elements to be developed. While universities are adopting these new methodologies, it is essential to consider the students&#39; previous experiences. Many students have already encountered these methods in primary and secondary education. This presents a challenge for university faculty, as some students transition from active learning environments to more traditional, passive ones. Therefore, university instructors must adapt their strategies to accommodate students who are already familiar with active learning methodologies.
As preliminary results, we found that the most commonly used methodologies in our country (omitted for blind revision) are project-based learning (PBL), gamification, and service-learning. There are networks and programs that have been implementing these innovative methodologies in primary and secondary education classrooms for years. These initiatives have enabled many students to enter university with substantial experience in these pedagogical techniques.
For future work, a study will be conducted with STEM students to identify the methodologies they have encountered both before and during their university studies. The study will also examine whether they perceive differences in their motivation and learning due to the use of more traditional methodologies.
The work would be presented as a Lightning talk

AU - David Lopez
AU - Raúl López Sánchez
AU - Josep Fernandez
CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DA - 2025/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - WIP: Pre-University Learning Experiences and Their Impact on University STEM Teaching
UR - https://peer.asee.org/57435
ER -