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The current work presents an activity developed by first-year undergraduate students of Civil Engineering at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. Due to the character of this activity and the type of organisation of the students in small groups (3 people in each group), this activity can be defined as Cooperative Learning (CL). In this process, students must estimate by using an experimental design the Young’s Modulus of a rubber elastic band, which has been previously delivered to the students by the professor. Before the beginning of this task, students have studied all the necessary theoretical concepts to develop this experiment, however neither kind of extra indications have been given to them about how to resolve it, so that they should elucidate on their own a testing methodology which allow them to reach the goal of this task. This activity has been carried out for five years, and in spite of its non mandatory character, students have showed a great interest and motivation for it. Paying attention to several criteria such as evaluation, reached objectives or the involvement of the students. The results obtained from the activity have been highly satisfactory both for professors and students.The content of this document is structured as follow: first, the educational context is exposed including the development the subject and the most singular characteristics of the degree. After that, both the curriculum of the subject and the traditional way of teaching Elasticity are exposed. Moreover, it is described the learning strategy proposal and some of the solutions adopted by students. Finally, themost relevant conclusions are drawn.

Students of Civil Engineering often find a great amount of difficulties inthose courses where the practical application of the theoretical concepts is essential. This paper describes a strategy of apprenticeship developed in the 4th-course subject called “Infraestructuras del transporte”, connected with Geotechnical Engineering, (Civil Engineering). This strategy is supported on the technique of seminars and on the problem-based learning (PBL), and has been carried out for six years. Students have showed a significant interest and motivation for this activity and their opinions respect to the utility of these seminars have been absolutely positive, thanks to several factors such as: flexible schedules and tutorials, the coordination between seminars and theoretical learning, the set of problems and practical cases proposed, the organization of the seminars and a fluent communication between students and teacher. The content of this document is organized as follow. First, it is exposed the general context where this subject is developed, and also the most relevant characteristics of this career. After that, it is described this educational experience which is focused on the major difficulties for our students. Moreover, it is explained the objectives and the methodology, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, it is analyzed the results and the main conclusions.

Ante la dificultad que suelen encontrar los estudiantes de ingeniería en aquellas asignaturas donde la aplicación práctica de los contenidos teóricos es fundamental, se describe en este estudio la estrategia de aprendizaje propuesta en la asignatura de Infraestructuras del Transporte (vinculada al área de Ingeniería del Terreno) de 4º curso de la titulación de Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos (Ingeniería Civil). Esta experiencia está apoyada en la técnica didáctica del seminario y en el aprendizaje basado en problemas (ABP) y se ha desarrollado de forma ininterrumpida a lo largo de 6 cursos académicos. Los alumnos han demostrado un claro interés y motivación por la actividad y su opinión en cuanto al aprovechamiento y utilidad de los seminarios ha resultado claramente satisfactoria, lo que puede estar motivado por factores como la flexibilidad en el horario y en las tutorías, la coordinación con las clases teóricas, los problemas y supuestos planteados, la propia organización de los seminarios y una fluida comunicación con el profesor. En este documento se presenta en primer lugar, el contexto global donde se encuadra esta asignatura, así como las características más singulares de la titulación. Después se describe esta experiencia docente, centrada en las principales dificultades que encuentran los alumnos en el estudio de la materia. También se describen los objetivos perseguidos, la metodología empleada, resaltando sus ventajas e inconvenientes, así como un análisis de los resultados obtenidos y las principales conclusiones alcanzadas. ABSTRACTSeminars in problems as educational strategy for technical teaching: An experience applied to Geotechnical Engineering. Students of Civil Engineering often find a great amount of difficulties in those courses where the practical application of the theoretical concepts is essential. This paper describes a strategy of apprenticeship developed in the 4th-course subject called “Infraestructuras del transporte”, connected with Geotechnical Engineering, (Civil Engineering). This strategy is supported on the technique of seminars and on the problem-based learning (PBL), and has been carried out for six years. Students have showed a significant interest and motivation for this activity and their opinions respect to the utility of these seminars have been absolutely positive, thanks to several factors such as: flexible schedules and tutorials, the coordination between seminars and theoretical learning, the set of problems and practical cases proposed, the organization of the seminars and a fluent communication between students and teacher. The content of this document is organized as follow. First, it is exposed the general context where this subject is developed, and also the most relevant characteristics of this career. After that, it is described this educational experience which is focused on the major difficulties for our students. Moreover, it is explained the objectives and the methodology, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, it is analyzed the results and the main conclusions.