DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCIES IN A TRANSDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENT THROUGH CHALLENGE-BASED LEARNING

Over a course of 5 weeks, freshmen students of the core curriculum called ‘Creative Studies’ conformed by 8 different academic programs from 2 faculties, developed a research based on discovering insights focusing on cultural and social aspects on a previously selected community into the city of Queretaro, Mexico. The students were enrolled in a new educational model in which they study their first year with an exploration academic core and then they select their major field in order to eventually graduate with a specialization. The students developed a research challenge in which they worked in transdisciplinary teams focusing on classroom exercises and field work alternated to guarantee immersion and experience based on theoretical content taught in the classroom and then applied on field in order to acquire core and transversal competencies. This paper describes the process in the implementation of the challenge-based learning focusing on how the students with different profiles developed their competencies through working on the challenge, guided by the teacher and teaming with their classmates in activities and exercises in order to achieve their goals.