THE USE OF BACKWARD DESIGN IN TECHNICAL ENGLISH COURSES FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Abstract

Pedagogical practices in Spain maintain a traditional format in which the teacher is revealed as the neural axis of the teaching-learning process. This limits the students to a passive role in which they merely reproduce the knowledge transferred without contributing new knowledge through critical, reflective and transformative postures. The national reality demands a modern preparation framed in computational knowledge that can satisfy the current needs that demand a good computer management, without forgetting that the use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) must be a cornerstone. Added to this reality is the fact that teachers are not totally updated in the use of ICTs, in many cases due to a lack of interest in self-training and in other cases due to the neglect of the relevant bodies. The general objective of this research is to propose the application of the backward design method in an English course in a technical engineering degree in a Spanish university to develop the understanding and transfer of what has been learned in the English subject.