Development of disciplinary and transversal skills in Biotechnology Engineering students, through the first interactive plant culture laboratory as a part of the Semilla Museum in the state of Chihuahua

Nowadays, the incorporation of real projects in real enterprises is crucial to the best academic preparation and best achievement of students. This paper compares the final grades of two different academic models used by one of the most important private universities in Mexico, Tecnologico de Monterrey on the same subject. One of the academic models is based on the use of a "formed partner" who provides a real problem, called a challenge, in a real context. The other academic model is based on traditional instruction in classes given by a professor in a classroom. In this research, a mixed-type evaluation was carried out, and qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Six groups from both different educational models previously mentioned were tested. For the qualitative part, the opinion of the students was obtained in a survey. Most of the students agreed by mentioning that the social service project was highly relevant, that it helped their learning, and that it resulted in a benefit to the community. For the quantitative part, students’ final averages were compared to establish if the student’s performance was better in any of the two educational models. The results showed that there was statistical evidence to affirm that the academic achievement of students under the Tec21 educational model is significantly higher than the student achievement in the Tec20 model (p-value 0.00). Likewise, there was no difference between the final average grades of the 4 groups from Tec20, and between the final grades of 2 groups from the Tec21 educational model (p-value 0.780). The importance of carrying out projects to improve students’ performance was demonstrated and even, in this particular kind of social service project to develop social awareness.