Teaching electrical and electronic engineering to multi-cultural groups

Abstract

This paper deepens into several issues derived from educational experiences lived in a Spanish University, while teaching an Electric Engineering-related subject - `Electrical Technology' - in a group that was primarily based on foreign students. This subject covers a wide range of aspects related to the components, conception and design of electrical industrial installations. The work compiles the different difficulties faced by the instructor during the teaching process in such group. These difficulties are mainly due to the differences in students' technical backgrounds, multi-cultural origin, diversity in the electric regulations of different countries and different importance of the subject for each individual. The paper proposes several education strategies to overcome some of these difficulties, namely: integration of ICTs in the teaching process, elaboration of multimedia didactic material, development of specific assessment systems and promotion of individual tutoring. Preliminary implantation of some of these actions has led to an improvement of the students' performance that is reflected through the higher attendance to the lectures, enhancement of the opinion towards the subject and increment in the grades obtained by the students.