En la universidad española, el Trabajo Fin de Grado (TFG) es el último escalón en el periodo formativo de los estudiantes de grado, y desempeña una importante función en la evaluación de las competencias, conocimientos y aptitudes adquiridas. Esta asignatura supone un reto para los futuros graduados ya que deben hacer frente a diferentes dificultades durante su proceso de elaboración. La base de inicio de este trabajo se encuentra en el estudio de las variables que determinan estas dificultades, así como de aquellas que influyen en el resultado final del TFG. Por tanto, el objetivo de esta investigación es analizar los resultados obtenidos –nota y satisfacción- y las dificultades experimentadas por una muestra de alumnos universitarios durante la elaboración de su TFG. Para alcanzar el objetivo formulado, se contó con la participación de 251 estudiantes egresados de los Grados de Maestro (Infantil y Primaria) de la Universidad de Salamanca, a los que se administró un cuestionario online, elaborado ad hoc para el presente estudio, compuesto por 17 ítems. Los resultados desvelan que las principales dificultades experimentadas por los alumnos se concretan en el uso correcto de la normativa APA y en la compatibilidad del TFG con el desarrollo de otras actividades. Además, el nivel de satisfacción de los estudiantes con el trabajo realizado es inferior a la nota obtenida, siendo el papel que desempeña el tutor, uno de los principales factores predictivos de los resultados obtenidos. Este trabajo pretende complementar los estudios existentes sobre el TFG al profundizar en aquellos aspectos que más entorpecen su desarrollo desde la perspectiva del propio alumnado, así como las variables que más directamente se relacionan con el resultado final.

There is growing interest in assessing the knowledge acquired by students. More often and in diverse disciplines it is necessary to know the level of the students through different types of testing. In the case of teaching of geography in Spain, there is a decrease and loss of such learning for various reasons. The aim of this research is to analyze the literacy in geography of university students in the Grado en Maestro de Educación Primaria (Degree in Elementary Education Teaching) for its possible multiplier effect, since they will be the ones who teach geography to future generations. In order to achieve this, our data source is based on a sample of 629 mental maps from students from four Spanish universities located in different autonomous communities in Spain. The knowledge of the assessed administrative unit was taken into value, but also its location and representation, showing the importance of the where in geography. Results show the inconsistent knowledge of the future teachers depending on the place of residence and which level of the structure of the country they are asked about. In turn, these results reinforce the usefulness of mental maps as an optimal method to assess geographic knowledge.

This study uses a one-group pre-test and post-test design to describe the mental models of geologic time held by a group of Spanish pre-service primary teachers, before and after an instructional intervention that introduced the work with different timescales. The questionnaire was given before instruction and five weeks after it. It consists of a timeline where seven key events were to be sequenced, and two questions, one open-ended and one closed, related to the absolute ages of the events and their duration. The mental model that was repeated the most before and after instruction contemplates the planet and life as something that has evolved over time but is still quite far from the scientific model. The results also show a significant evolution of mental models towards the scientific model, although students still evidence certain difficulties when working with scales and absolute ages, tending to underestimate the spans of time involved. Furthermore, students exhibited certain difficulties when working with the ages of the most recent events that involve shorter time spans.

Acessibilidade e utilização dos espaços verdes urbanos nas cidades de Coimbra (Portugal) e Salamanca (Espanha)

Urban green spaces (UGS) are patches of nature that, when located in the vicinity of schools, can be used to encourage active learning. But when educators plan on using these spaces in their daily routine, they have to face numerous difficulties. This paper analyses the uses of UGS by primary education teachers and the influence that the distance between UGS and schools in Zamora, a small city located in NW Spain, has in their usage. Quantitative data were collected by means of a paper-based questionnaire administered to 119 students of the Primary Education Teaching Degree after their professional practice period in primary schools. In the questionnaire, composed of 20 closed-ended questions, students were asked about several aspects of their tutors’ daily use of UGS. Results show low usage of UGS by primary teachers, even though schools have very high accessibility to these spaces. Teachers largely use UGS to reinforce natural and social sciences lessons, developing activities associated with plants and nature. But there are barriers that hinder the educational use of these spaces such as curricular planning and teacher training. Nevertheless, results show that when teachers visit UGS, they use these spaces as teaching laboratories where they apply active teaching methodologies, such as inquiry-based methods.

Today there is a growing interest in measuring the academic performance and the acquisition of certain skills and content by students at different ages. It has also been extended to the field of geography in recent years. The objective of this paper is to analyse the geo-literacy of a sample of university students of the degree in Primary Education Teacher by its possible multiplier effect, since they will be the ones who teach geography to future generations. In order to achieve the formulated objective, 168 students from the University of Salamanca participated in this research. They were administered a questionnaire made up of socio-demographic questions and a question in which the respondents have to draw a mental map of the political-administrative division of Spain. The results indicate that those surveyed students have some difficulties in locating the provinces of our country, especially those furthest from their place of origin.