Statistics in Forest Engineering Degree Programs: What Should be Taught and Who Should Teach It

Esperanza Ayuga-Téllez; Concepción  González; Susana Martín-Fernández

doi:10.3991/ijep.v13i4.37261

Authors

Esperanza Ayuga-Téllez Universidad Politécnica de Madrid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7792-0222
Concepción González Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Susana Martín-Fernández Universidad Politécnica de Madrid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7240-1650

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijep.v13i4.37261

Keywords:

discussion groups; Forest Engineering; higher education; Statistics subject; teaching

Abstract

Quality in teaching Applied Statistics in the Degree in Forestry Engineering requires initially asking why to teach Statistics, who should teach it and what should be taught. This paper aims to answer these questions. Natural discussion groups have been used as a method to achieve the objectives. These groups were formed by professors from the UPM and the National University of Santiago del Estero, in Argentina. The results reached the consensus of the experts on the subject: the need for statistics in the training of forestry engineers and that the main contents should be descriptive statistics, sampling techniques, estimation and hypothesis testing and linear models. Finally, another result was that the teaching staff should be Forestry Engineers to show and involve students in real and practical cases that solve engineering problems that facilitate student learning.

Author Biographies

Esperanza Ayuga-Téllez, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

She is a Professor in the Department of Engineering and Forest and Environmental Management at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) in the Statistics and Operations Research area. She has held academic positions (10 years) in Academic Organization, Quality and Educational Innovation at the UPM and the Higher Technical School of Forest Engineering. She has participated in projects (12) of Educational Innovation, in two nationally as principal investigator. She has participated in international and national Conferences (26) and has published papers (9) on higher engineering education, like in the International Journal of Engineering Education and Computer Applications in Engineering Education. (email: esperanza.ayuga@upm.es)

Concepción González, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

She is a Professor at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), in the area of Statistics and Operations Research. She has held academic positions (10 years) in topics of Academic Organization, Quality and Educational Innovation at the UPM and the Higher Technical School of Forest Engineering. She has participated in projects (12) about Educational Innovation and the implantation of the European Higher Education Area. She has participated in international and national Conferences (26) and has published papers (10) on higher engineering education, among other journals, in the International Journal of Engineering Education and Computer Applications in Engineering Education. (email: concepcion.gonzalez@upm.es)

Susana Martín-Fernández, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Susana Martín-Fernández is a professor in the Department of Forest and Environmental Engineering and Management of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). I held the position of deputy director of academic planning for 5 years, launching new bachelor's and master's degrees at the School of Forestry Engineering of the UPM. My main research line is focused on decision-making processes applied to territory planning and rural development, sustainable forest management and natural hazards prevention and management. Currently, I am the director of the Research Group of the UPM: for Sustainable Environmental Management, SILVANET. (email: susana.martin@upm.es)