A New Way to Evaluate the Impact of Research-Based Learning (RBL) and Develop Competencies in Higher Education

Within the existing teaching-learning strategies, Research-Based Learning (RBL) promises to be a robust alternative for developing competencies, such as research. This study proposes a new way to evaluate the RBL model for developing both transversal and technical competencies. One hundred twenty-two students from different university careers were assessed through surveys at the beginning and end of the course, analyzing the level of development of various competencies from each student's perspective and validated by the teachers. The results were significant for scientific thinking (52%), correct use of mathematical tools (46%), written communication (45%), and identification of relevant information (38<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">%</sup>). We observed two essential conditions for the proper functioning of RBL: effective and immediate feedback on activities by the teacher and commitment from the students. Under these conditions, it was concluded that the activities designed under the RBL methodology allowed students to develop and perceive their competencies better.