La investigacion como estrategia pedagogica del proceso de aprendizaje para ingenieria civil
Scientific and Technological advances have caused changes in teaching process within Universities. Keeping their autonomy but also the standards established by the MEN (Ministerio de Educacion Nacional) in Colombia, universities are implementing new teaching processes that enhance learning experience, allowing students to develop competences and providing skills to fulfill requirements of the market. To respond the changes in the qualification of the students, the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) system has implemented an Integrated teaching model (ITM) to establish a participative teaching/learning process, focusing the learning experience on the student and his autonomy, exploiting the potential for the formation of values. This article presents the results of implementing the ITM for the "Construction's Materials" course offered as an undergraduate class in the Civil Engineering program at UPB. Implementing the ITM required changes on the traditional teaching scheme followed by UPB system by decades, and the inclusion of new teaching strategies. The sample of students, who participated of the ITM experience, have shown a better understanding of the theoretical concepts allowing them to solve real life problems. In addition, students involved in the ITM have shown a better analytical ability and oral and written communication skills.