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REVISTA ELECTRÓNICA TRANSFORMAR
TRANSFORMAR ELECTRONIC JOURNAL
ISSN 2735-6302
Volumen 01 ! Nro. 01 ! Diciembre 2020 – Enero 2021
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Developing soft skills in undergraduate students: A case at

a Chilean private university
FERNANDO VERA1 !UENEKO TEJADA2

1
UNIVERSITY OF THE REPUBLIC (CHILE)
2
UNIVERSITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (SPAIN)
Recibido • Received: 14 / 10 / 2020

Corregido • Revised: 10 / 11 / 2020
Aceptado • Accepted: 19 / 11 / 2020
ABSTRACT
The role of non-cognitive skills in twenty-first century’s professionals is a critical success factor in current
workforce. Undoubtedly, infusing these interpersonal attributes into the curriculum is a huge challenge
for Chilean Higher Education Institutions (HEI). In fact, some HEIs are currently integrating these generic
skills through direct instruction, while others from a cross-curricular approach, but without having consi-
dered proper teacher training. More importantly, developing soft skills in new generations has the poten-
tial to have profound and transformative effects on the professional field. This article provides an over-
view of the current state of the art in soft-skills-based education. For this purpose, a group of 55 un-
dergraduate students of a Chilean private university were surveyed. Findings indicate that these students
are not acquiring soft skills, at a competitive level, that would help them to advance in their future career.
KEYWORDS: Generic skills; active learning approaches; higher education; curriculum.
Introduction
Traditionally, faculty members focus on teaching academic and professional knowledge rather
than soft skills1, such as, effective communication, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking and
creativity. In fact, students learn how to become an engineer, a nurse, a physician, an accountant or
a dentist, but they do not learn soft skills. Without these 21st century skills, every university graduate
will face many relationship issues in their future professional live. It is important to note that it is not
just content knowledge and soft skills that matter for success, but the metacognitive strategies and
1
Soft skills and non-cognitive skills are used indistinctively in this article.
Los artículos de Revista Electrónica Transformar® de Centro Transformar SpA, Chile, se comparten bajo
licencia Creative Commons Chile: Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional BY-NC-ND.
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personalities students bring to learning also affect their academic performance and life prospects.
Intuitively this makes sense because the topic is not new.
In fact, studies in the United States have found that non-cognitive skills like responsibility, perse-
verance, the ability to get along with others, self-control, and motivation are highly correlated with
future educational levels of attainment, as well as success in broader life – including numerous labor
market outcomes and social behaviors (Brunello & Schlotter, 2011; Heckman et al., 2006; Deming,
2017). Non-cognitive traits and behaviors, however, might be as important as -or even more impor-
tant than-cognitive skills in determining academic and employment outcomes (Heckman et al.,
2006).
There is strong evidence that soft skills, also referred to as generic competences (Unideusto,
2008), non-cognitive skills (Heckman & Kautz, 2013) and life skills (UNESCO, 2015), are increasingly
important indicators of success both at school and in adult life. Other common terms are key skills,
core skills, key competencies, people skills or employability skills. For example, Deming (2017) found
that employment growth was particularly strong in occupations that require high levels of both math-
related and social skills. The bottom line is that faculty members are held accountable for the cogni-
tive skill levels and growth of their students as measured by standardized tests. But, who accounts
for non-cognitive skills? What are soft skills? Soft skills are defined as those personality traits that
could improve labor performance, facilitate in-house mobility, catapult a professional career and
predict employee performance (Vera, 2016).
Whatever the term you chose, they are desirable qualities that apply across a variety of jobs and
life situations, including traits, such as, integrity, communication, courtesy, responsibility, professio-
nalism, flexibility, and teamwork. Conversely, hard skills comprise teachable abilities acquired
through means of self-study, work experience, education or training that are critically important to
success in today’s world (Alshare & Sewailem, 2018). These skills are industry-specific and vary from
job to job. Thus, these specific skills are essential to performing the technical of functional specifica-
tions of a particular job or profession.
By contrast, non-cognitive skills comprise a mind-set, underpinned by essential human qualities
such as intuition, creativity, passion, responsibility, kindness, courage and self-awareness (Tsey et al.,
2018). In other words, they can be broadly classified as a combination of personality traits, behaviors,
and social attitudes that allow people to communicate effectively, collaborate, and successfully ma-
nage conflict (Snyder, 2020). People with good soft skills tend to have strong situational awareness
and emotional intelligence that allows them to navigate difficult working environments while still
producing positive results.
Unlike hard skills, soft skills are completely different, in that they relate to intangible qualities and
are often an inherent part of your personality. With soft skills, we are talking about character traits
and qualities, such as: attitude, work ethic, ability to communicate, collaboration and teamwork skills,
problem-solving abilities, empathy or compassion (Dea, 2017). Many of these qualities can be seen
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in people who have high levels of emotional intelligence –the ability to monitor our own and others’
feelings and emotions and to use this information to guide our thinking and actions. Emotional inte-
lligence (EQ) is a very important factor in maintaining successful relationships, both personal and
professional.
Many 21st century skills development proposals are observed worldwide. For example, Interna-
tional Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) -an international educational foundation headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968-, fosters the following set of distinctive attributes in Inter-
national Baccalaureate (IB) students Baccalaureate (IB) to invigorate campus life IBO, 2010):
• Inquirers. IB students develop natural curiosity skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research
and show independence in learning.
• Knowledgeable. IB students explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global
significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across
a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
• Thinkers. IB students exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to
recognize and approach complex problems and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
• Communicators. IB students understand and express ideas and information confidently and
creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work
effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
• Principled. IB students act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice
and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility
for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
• Open-minded. IB students understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal
histories and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and
communities.
• Caring. IB students show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of
others. They have a personal commitment to service and act to make a positive difference to
the lives of others and to the environment.
• Risk-takers. IB students approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and
forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies.
They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
• Balanced. IB students understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional
balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
• Reflective. IB students give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience.
They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their
learning and personal development.
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The International Baccalaureate® (IB) program is one of the world’s most innovative educational
courses for 16-19 year olds. It focuses on personal, professional and academic development and is
globally recognized by universities for the holistic and rigorous education it provides. The aim of all
IB programs is to develop internationally minded people who recognize their common humanity and
shared guardianship of the planet and help to create a better and more peaceful world.
From a labor standpoint, the Job Outlook 2019 survey conducted by the National Association of
Colleges and Employees (NACE, 2019) -an American Center for Career Development and Talent
Acquisition- found that employers give their highest scores to the following most sought-after attri-
butes, when recruiting new staff:
• Written communication skills (82%);

• Problem-solving skills (80.9%);
• Ability to work in a team (78.7%).
Interestingly, technical or hard skills (59.6%) often considered among the most important skills an
applicant can possess in today’s high-tech job market, ranked quite low by comparison. As it is
shown in Table 1, the results of the Job Outlook 2019 survey make it clear that employers are paying
much closer attention to soft skills in the workplace than they did in years past. These types of skills
have become increasingly necessary for workers at the workplace, where many processes are auto-
mated and executed by machines. Therefore, employees must exploit their soft skills to the fullest
and make their work essential in the company to ensure their future.
Table 1: Attributes employers seek on a candidate’s resume

Attribute % of respondents
Communication skills (written) 82.0%
Problem-solving skills 80.9%
Ability to work in a team 78.7%
Initiative 74.2%
Analytical/quantitative skills 71.9%
Strong work ethic 70.8%
Communication skills (verbal) 67.4%
Leadership 67.4%
Detail-oriented 59.6%
Technical skills 59.6%
Flexibility/adaptability 58.4%
Computer skills 55.1%
Interpersonal skills (relates well to others) 52.8%
Organizational ability 43.8%
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Strategic planning skills 38.2%

Tactfulness 25.8%
Creativity 23.6%
Friendly/outgoing personality 22.5%
Entrepreneurial skills/risk-taker 16.9%
Fluency in a foreign language 11.2%
Source: Job Outlook 2019 survey (NACE, 2019).
Non-cognitive skills development curriculum

With regard to developing non-cognitive skills in the HEI classrooms, Vera (2016) proposes a
holistic approach that integrates them both directly and indirectly. From this teaching strategy,
students could acquire said skills explicitly (formal curriculum) and implicitly (hidden curriculum),
with emphasis on active-learning classroom activities. Conceptually, this holistic view implies:
• Focusing instruction on students’ learning styles and needs;

• Defining a set of non-cognitive skills, responding to the workforce sector;
• Preparing the necessary learning and teaching resources needed for direct curriculum;
and
• Defining the methodology and assessment strategies to develop and assess non-
cognitive skills both directly and indirectly.
The above mentioned-approach involves engaging students in meaningful learning activities

that transform them into self-reliant and independent learners. However, teachers must have
developed these skills in their personal lives in order to infuse them in their students. Other-
wise, their classes would only be a delivery of theoretical content, without a deep attitudinal
change in others. Among the activities that should be embodied inside classrooms to develop
active learning are the following:
• Problem-based learning, where students are given a problem that encourages them to
cooperate with each other, formulate questions, analyze evidence, think critically, connect
current situation to personal experience, draw conclusions, take corrective actions on their
own and reflect on their learning.
• Experiential learning, where students learn by engaging in authentic learning activities,
that is, ones that replicate situations or problems they might encounter in real life or in a
work situation.
• Role-playing, where students can have fun while, at the same time, build social skills and
learn about social rules.
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• Simulated situations, where students learn to assume their own mistakes and shortcom-
ings to improve their future performance.
As it can be noted, non-cognitive skills represent valuable assets with respect to both tradi-
tional learning outcomes and the broader development of individuals. But, are teachers pre-
pared to cope with this huge challenge? Despite the important efforts made to reform higher
education curriculum, all appears to indicate that there is still a long walk towards a paradigm
shift in classroom teaching strategies. Moreover, some of undergraduate students’ performance
mistakes are due students’ low critical thinking ability and lack of metacognitive skills (Vera,
2020. The evidence clearly suggests changing the models that are so common in college and
university classrooms - primarily “teacher talk.” Teachers dominate classroom talk speaking an-
ywhere between 60% to 75% of the time (Davies, 2011).
Moreover, strategies for infusing soft skills should include active methodologies and extra-
curricular activities and in all courses that make up an undergraduate training program. The
purpose is to promote developing soft skills in both formal, Informal and non-formal learning
contexts. To invigorate higher education classrooms, faculty members should set aside their
teacher-centered approach and allow their students to become more independent learners. In
their classrooms, teachers and students together should create learning communities on shared
goals, shared resources and shared patters and norms for participating as legitimate members
of the communities. In their interactions with each other, both teachers and students assume
particular identities and roles, which allows them to develop understandings of what constitutes
not only the substance of what is to be learned, but also the very process of learning itself.
One strand of non-cognitive skills development is concerned with promoting experiential
learning. Most educators often struggle developing soft skills in their students because these
skills are hard to measure and develop. Experiential learning, or learning through experience,
can help you create an engaging classroom experience in which students can practice and de-
velop these critical career skills. As a member of the Association of Experiential Education
(AEE), based in Florida, USA, I have learned that in order to succeed in life, individuals need to:
• Develop strong social, emotional, and high-level cognitive and non-cognitive skills and
capabilities, as these are difficult to automate and can transfer between occupation cate-
gories;
• Become innovators and problem solvers by leveraging their curiosity and permitting
themselves to fail while iterating on new solutions to old problems and;
• Be able to effectively communicate and collaborate with a diverse set of people and
technologies.
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In this context, what do experiential learning classrooms look like? Who are the participants?
What roles do they play? At a rapid glance, the first impression is that many things happen in-
side these interactive classrooms. Mainly, we see students interacting with each other, regard-
less of the knowledge they may possess of the subject matter. They interact with each other
because they are encouraged to do so. In order to complete the students’ learning, it is not
enough just to work together in the form of specific groups in the designed situation. They
need to cooperate with each other in real-life learning situations (Herwina et al., 2019). And
most importantly, they need to learn how to share knowledge and experience in order to pro-
mote a deeper level of cooperative learning.
Materials and methods

This study employed a descriptive research design through a soft skill assessment test to
identify students’ performance and a soft skill questionnaire to identify students’ blind spots.
Fifty-five undergraduate nursing students of a Chilean private university registered in the “Ge-
neric skills course”, participated in this study. Of this group, 42 (76.4%) were predominantly fe-
males (aging from 19-33 years) and 13 (23.6%) were males (aging from 19-30 years). Findings
indicate that there is a gap in non-cognitive skills in these nursing students. This article is based
on the author’s teaching experience. The researcher was the Academic Director of the Generic
Skills Development Program at this university. This study was designed to give answers to the fol-
lowing research questions:
• What is the level of performance in soft skill situations among undergraduate students?
• Which soft skill obtains the highest scoring on an assessment test?
• Which soft skills are most valued by undergraduate students?
Results
The participants were in the 19-33 age group and the average age was 25.05 years (SD= 4,95).
Female students accounted for 72.7% of the total group. The non-cognitive skills were measured
through two online self-administered instruments: a multiple-choice performance test, with 16 non-
cognitive-related situations and a Likert-type scale questionnaire with 20 questions covering the fol-
lowing core non-cognitive skills categories: Effective communication, leadership, teamwork and
problem solving. The first part of this questionnaire collected demographic data of nursing students
(gender and age).
On average, test results show that effective communication skills have the highest grade (5.54) in
the Chilean 1.0 – 7.0 grading scale, whereas the lowest grade was in problem-solving skills (3,70), as
shown in Table 2.
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Table 2: Soft skills performance test results

Type of soft skill Grade N %
Effective communication 5.5 38 69.1
Leadership 5.3 47 85.5
Teamwork 4.8 27 49.1
Problem solving 3.7 12 21.8
Source: Own elaboration.
It is important to note that this group of students attains a passing grade of 4.8 (sufficient), ac-
cording to the Chilean 1.0 – 7.0 grading scale, with a passing grade of 4,0. Regarding the soft skill
questionnaire, respondents have consistently answered “strongly agree” or “disagree” to all the
questions. Because of the small number of respondents our main findings rested with two frames of
analysis: the difference between those that had the highest and the lowest scoring. There were two
key findings: the effective communication category appeared to be the most valuable soft skill
across all the questions, whereas the problem-solving category had the lowest scoring across all the
questions.
Overall, 36 out of 55 (65,4%) of the responses to all effective communication-related questions
were strongly agree (questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 13). A total of 12 out 55 (12,8%) of the responses to all the
solving-problem related questions were disagree (questions 6, 10, 11, 15, 17, 3). The statement that
received the highest score was ‘People understand my questions, instructions and ideas the first time
I offer them’, with a total of 21/36 respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing. Two other statements
share the next highest score ‘I am able to understand and consider diverse points of view before
reaching a conclusion’, with a total of 15/36 agreeing or strongly agreeing. The statements that
seemed to be the lowest soft skills were in the problem-solving category. The following statements:
‘Before offering a solution, I evaluate the situation and pinpoint the root cause of the problem’ (9/12
disagree or strongly disagree) and ‘I understand the context and rationale for tasks I do, seeking clar-
ity when I don’ see the purpose’ (3/12 disagree of strongly disagree).
In addition, participating students were asked what soft skills they most frequently apply in their
daily life. The purpose was to investigate if they have a clear understanding of the importance of soft
skills. Based on the review of the Soft Skill Development Program, at this university, the 20 questions
of the soft skill questionnaire were organized under this university’s four core soft skills being pro-
moted by this university (effective communication, leadership, teamwork and problem solving). Out
of the 55 respondents, 36 students (65%) chose all the soft skills, which reflects their moderate un-
derstanding of soft skills. The top two soft skills, as identified by the students, were effective com-
munication and leadership, as shown in Table 3.
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Table 3: Soft skills ranking according to undergraduate students

Ranking Type of soft skills Frequency
(n = 55)
1 Effective communication 45
2 Leadership 41
3 Teamwork 32
4 Problem solving 25
Undergraduate students’ soft skill ranking suggests that they moderately value integration of soft
skills into the curriculum. However, their level of performance in soft skill-related situations does not
match their slightly positive perception of soft skills. As an overview, students were also asked to rate
the importance of soft skills for different purposes, using a 1 - 7 point scale. As shown in Table 4, ef-
fective communication and leadership were considered the most important soft skills for undergrad-
uate students (mean score 5.90 and 5.47, respectively). However, these students felt that all the soft
skills taught in the Soft Skills Development Program were slightly important for their professional
performance (mean score 5.30).
Table 4: Soft skills valued by undergraduate students

Soft skills Mean ST
1–7
Effective communication 5.90 0.64
Leadership 5.47 0.71
Teamwork 5.14 0.85
Problem solving 4,67 1.02
Conclusion
The low grade of 4.8 (sufficient) attained by this group of students in the soft skill performance
test shows that teaching and learning strategies have not been effective. This finding has practical
implications for instructors wishing to infuse soft skills in their practice. As it has been shared, there is
a variety of active learning strategies either to teach these abilities directly or indirectly. However, ef-
fective use of said strategies requires some degree of intentional course planning.
Regarding the most developed soft skill in these students, it was found that effective communica-
tion scored the highest on the performance test (5.5). This is a good beginning as communication
skills are considered to be the most imperative skills a professional must have. This finding has also
shown that students are aware of the importance of this skill. It is also concluded that these stu-
dents associate the development of soft skills with a set of training courses and not necessarily with
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life skills that should be infused throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Otherwise, performance
test results should have been higher.
Finally, the soft skills that are mostly valued by these students are effective communication and
leadership. However, they think that the set of soft skills included in their education are slightly im-
portant for their future profession. The reason for this perception could be the time students must
devote to courses not directly related to the nurse’s core training.
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Authors’ bibliography
1
FERNANDO VERA. PhD with a mention in Evaluation and Accreditation; Master of Educational
Administration and Management; Master of Curriculum and Evaluation; European Master of Te-
chnology, Learning and Education. University professor. University of the Republuic (Chile). Or-
ganizational & educational consultant. Research lines: Development of generic skills, active
methodologies and integration of technology into the curriculum.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4326-1660
Email: fernandoveracl@gmail.com
2
ENEKO TEJADA. Doctor from the University of the Basque Country. Associate Professor at the
University of the Basque Country. Degree in Psychopedagogy from the University of Deusto
and - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. Member of the Department of Didactics and School Orga-
nization. Research lines: Educational innovation, active methoodologies and ciberbulling.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6013-222X
Email: eneko.tejada@ehu.eus
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EXPERIENCIA FORMATIVA
Uso de la técnica One-Minute Paper como

evaluación formativa en estudiantes universitarios
Using the One-Minute Paper Technique as a formative

assessment strategy in undergraduate students
FERNANDO VERA1 ! SALVADOR GARCÍA-MARTÍNEZ2 ! ALBERTO FERRIZ-VALERO3

1
UNIVERSIDAD LA REPÚBLICA1 (CHILE)
UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE (ESPAÑA)
1, 2
Recibido • Received: 12 / 09 / 2020

Corregido • Revised: 20 / 09 / 2020
Aceptado • Accepted: 04 / 11 / 2020
RESUMEN
El presente trabajo es parte integral de un proyecto de investigación internacional, que pretende averi-
guar sobre la efectividad de la técnica One-Minute Paper (OMP) en universidades hispano y angloparlan-
tes. La experiencia recoge un avance de la implementación de esta técnica de evaluación formativa, en
diversas titulaciones, en el contexto chileno y español. A diferencia de lo que sugiere la literatura, en es-
te trabajo se argumenta que, para incrementar el aprendizaje activo con esta técnica, se requiere transi-
tar de niveles cognitivos inferiores a superiores. Se ha encontrado que este método logra implicar intrín-
secamente a estudiantes de grado en su proceso formativo.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Aprendizaje activo; Evaluación; Pensamiento crítico; Retroalimentación.
ABSTRACT
This work is an integral part of an international research project, which aims to find out about the effecti-
veness of the One-Minute Paper (OMP) technique in Spanish and English-speaking universities. The ex-
perience includes an advance in the implementation of this formative assessment technique, in various
degrees, in the Chilean and Spanish context. Contrary to what the literature suggests, in this work it is
argued that, to increase active learning with this technique, it is necessary to move from lower to higher
cognitive levels. It has been found that this method intrinsically involves undergraduate students in their
training process.
KEYWORDS: Active learning; Assessment; Critical thinking; Feedback.
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Introducción y contexto
Existen diversas técnicas que el profesorado universitario puede adoptar para medir el
aprendizaje de sus estudiantes. Las estrategias habituales que se utilizan antes, durante y al fi-
nal de una clase incluyen preguntas planteadas por docentes y discentes o quizzes sobre cier-
tos contenidos críticos. Sin embargo, estas técnicas no logran implicar al estudiantado, ni tam-
poco permiten transitar hacia niveles cognitivos superiores, de manera sistemática. Adicional-
mente, la evidencia reconoce que la lección magistral, que predomina en las aulas universita-
rias, no permite aprender de manera activa, ni tampoco promueve el aprendizaje profundo
(Sloman y Mitchell, 2002). En este contexto, este proyecto surgió como una necesidad de re-
troalimentar el proceso de aprendiza-enseñanza en la educación superior, mediante la evalua-
ción formativa, con foco en el desarrollo del aprendizaje activo. Dentro de las metodologías ac-
tivas, elegimos la técnica OMP, ya que resulta fácil de operativizar e implementar, a nivel uni-
versitario, cuando buscamos evaluar de manera formativa y, al mismo tiempo, retroalimentar-
nos de nuestros estudiantes, de manera inmediata.
En efecto, el OMP es una técnica de evaluación formativa, que no consume una gran canti-
dad de recursos y que resulta sencilla en cuanto a su diseño y puesta en práctica (Lerís y Sein-
Echalice, 2009). En su versión original, Angelo y Cross, 1993, proponen dos preguntas clasícas
que se aplican al final de la clase:
• ¿Qué es lo más importante de lo aprendido en la clase de hoy?

• ¿Qué aspecto no está claro aún?
En la propuesta original, las respuestas a estas preguntas se entregaban en un trozo de pa-

pel, que el profesorado debía revisar fuera de la clase para, en la siguiente sesión, compartir
los resultados. Con esta estrategia, el estudiantado toma control de su aprendizaje y sugiere
mejoras en las propuestas docentes (Whittard, 2015). Cualquiera sea la decisión metodológica,
esta técnica sigue sirviendo a dos propósitos principales: (i) averiguar cuán bien el estudianta-
do comprende ciertos conceptos importantes de una clase y (ii) entregar retroalimentación al
profesorado para realizar ajustes a contenidos y enfoques (Stead, 2005).
A diferencia de la metodología tradicional, como innovación, hemos decidido integrar tec-
nología digital (formulario Google forms, chat o cualquier otro recurso en línea) para recoger
las respuestas y así compartir los resultados, de manera más sistematizada. También hemos
propuesto formular preguntas que permitan transitar de niveles cognitivos inferiores a superio-
res, con la finalidad de promover el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico. Adicionalmente, propo-
nemos aplicar esta técnica en cualquier momento de la clase (al inicio, durante o al final). Como
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escenario de estudio, hemos definido trabajar con universidades hispano y angloparlantes, en

diversos programas y asignaturas. En este contexto, nos planteamos implementar la técnica
OMP y analizar su efectividad como herramienta de evaluación formativa, desde la perspectiva
del estudiantado.
Desarrollo de la experiencia
Nuestro plan de intervención comprende cinco fases: (1) revisión de la literatura; (2) adapta-
ción de la técnica; (3) adaptación del instrumento; (4) micro-implementación de la técnica y (5)
administración de un cuestionario de satisfacción.
En nuestra experiencia, en la primera sesión explicamos el objetivo de la técnica y el propó-
sito de la intervención. Luego, procedemos a aplicar un conjunto de ocho preguntas, desde ni-
veles cognitivos inferiores hasta superiores, distribuidas en dos preguntas por sesión. Hasta el
momento, hemos implementado esta técnica en programas de Universidad La República (Chi-
le) y Universidad de Alicante (España). Adicionalmente, hemos preparado una presentación
PowerPoint y un video para compartir la técnica OMP con docentes de universidades hispano-
parlantes de diversas titulaciones. Paralelamente, nos encontramos trabajando la versión en in-
glés del proyecto.
En cuanto al desarrollo docente, creemos que esta metodología permite al profesorado revi-
sitar su capacidad para formular preguntas críticas y sistematizarlas, de manera simple y diná-
mica. Sin duda, en una clase centrada en el aprendizaje, las preguntas fluyen naturalmente. En
este sentido, la técnica OMP ayuda al profesorado no sólo a organizar las preguntas, sino a
orientarlas tanto hacia fines evaluativos y/o de retroalimentación mutua.
Al final de la intervención, pretendemos evaluar la efectividad de este método, a través de
un instrumento adaptado y autoadministrado en línea, a estudiantes de grado chilenos y espa-
ñoles. Nuestra idea es incrementar la muestra, en principio, con la colaboración de colegas de
ambos países y, en un proceso ulterior, con colegas de países anglosajones.
Resultados
La implementación de esta técnica, en modo virtual, en plena pandemia por COVID-19 y en
cualquier momento de la clase, ha demostrado ser más efectiva que la metodología original en
formato de papel, al final de la clase. Adicionalmente, el haber propuesto formular preguntas,
que permitan transitar de niveles cognitivos inferiores a superiores, ha promovido el pensa-
miento crítico y la autorregulación de los aprendizajes. Además, la experiencia indica que esta
técnica puede implementarse en cualquier programa de grado.
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ISSN 2735-6302
Con respecto al desarrollo del pensamiento crítico, en el general, se ha encontrado que el

estudiantado necesita mayor práctica. Uno de los principales hallazgos parece ser la falta de
exposición a preguntas de orden superior.
En cuanto al rendimiento académico, éste ha ido mejorando progresivamente sesión a se-
sión, con una calificación referencial promedio hasta el momento de 5,8 (escala 1-7), en estu-
diantes chilenos (n = 45). Aún no se ha realizado la comparación referida a rendimiento, en es-
tudiantes españoles (escala 1-10).
Conclusiones
A partir de la experiencia, podemos concluir que el OMP es una herramienta versátil, efecti-
va y de bajo costo, que permite sistematiza la evaluación formativa. De hecho, hemos identifi-
cado que esta técnica permite retroalimentar de manera inmediata; mantiene al estudiantado
alerta, pues se necesita responder en un tiempo apropiado (1 a tres minutos); promueve el
desarrollo del pensamiento crítico y ofrece una plataforma uniforme para aclarar dudas. Sin
embargo, estimamos necesario realizar un breve entrenamiento inicial para que el profesorado
pueda intergrar esta técnica en sus praxis.
Además, hemos encontrado que esta técnica no sólo permite fomentar el desarrollo de
competencias cognitivas, sino también competencias metacognitivas, ya que abre espacios pa-
ra la reflexión en la práctica e instancias para la autorregulación de los aprendizajes. Como
buena práctica, sugerimos planificar las preguntas con base en la taxonomía de Bloom revisa-
da, de manera de transitar de niveles cognitivos inferiores a superiores. Para efectos compara-
tivos (benchmarking), sugerimos implementar esta técnica durante una unidad de aprendizaje
para así dar paso a otras metodologías activas. Finalmente, creemos que esta estrategia eva-
luativa permite dinamizar el proceso formativo y apalancar el aprendizaje activo del estudianta-
do de grado.
Nota:
• Con el propósito de compartir esta metodología, hemos preparado una presentación PowerPoint, la
cual puede consultarse aquí: http://rediie.cl/wp-content/uploads/ONE-MINUTE-PAPER-
ORIGINAL.pdf
Referencias
Angelo, T. A. & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for Co-
llege Teachers, 2nd edn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass .
Lerís, Ma Dolores; Sein-Echaluce Ma. Luisa (2009). Una experiencia de innovación docente en
el ámbito universitario. Uso de las nuevas tecnologías. Arbor, CLXXXV, Extra 2009. 93-110.
http://arbor.revistas.csic.es/index.php/arbor/article/v iew/378/381
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ISSN 2735-6302
Sloman, J. and Mitchell, C. (2002). Lecturers. In: Davies, S., eds .(2007) The Handbook for Eco-
nomics Lecturers. The Economics Network.
https://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/printable/lectures_v5.pdf
Stead, D. (2005). A review of the one-minute paper. Active Learning in Higher Education, SAGE
Publications, 6(2), 118-131. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00571925/document
Vivel-Búa, M., Lado-Sestayo, R. y Sara Fernández-López, S. (2014). One minute papers: rendi-
miento y satisfacción del alumnado. RADIE: Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa,
17(2), 48-60. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=4951250
Whittard, D. (2015). Reflections on the one-minute paper.
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/323891299.pdf
Bibliografía de autores
1
FERNANDO VERA. Doctor en Ciencias de la Educación, mención Evaluación y Acreditación;
Master en Administración y Gestión Educacional; Master en Currículum y Evaluación; Mas-
ter Europeo en Tecnología, Aprendizaje y Educación. Académico, Universidad La Repúbli-
ca, Chile. Consultor organizacional y educacional. Líneas de investigación: Desarrollo de
competencias genéricas, metodologías activas e integración de tecnología en el currículo.
análisis de una problemática en Educación Física.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4326-1660
Email: fernandoveracl@gmail.com
2
SALVADOR GARCÍA-MARTÍNEZ: Licenciado Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte. Pro-
fesor Asociado, Dpto. Didáctica General y Didácticas Específicas en Universidad de Alican-
te, España. Líneas de investigación: Innovación educativa en Educación Física e Identifica-
ción y análisis de una problemática en Educación Física.
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3209-3937
Email: salvador.garcia@ua.es
3
ALBERTO FERRIZ-VALERO: Dr. Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte. Profesor Asocia-
do, Dpto. Didáctica General y Didácticas Específicas en Universidad de Alicante, España.
Líneas de investigación: Innovación educativa en Educación Física e Identificación y análisis
de una problemática en Educación Física.
análisis de una problemática en Educación Física.
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8206-4152
Email: alberto.ferriz@ua.es
72
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Developing soft skills in undergraduate students: A case at a Chilean private

Article · December 2020

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Developing soft skills in undergraduate students: A case at

FERNANDO VERA1 !UENEKO TEJADA2

Recibido • Received: 14 / 10 / 2020

• Written communication skills (82%);

Table 1: Attributes employers seek on a candidate’s resume

Strategic planning skills 38.2%

Non-cognitive skills development curriculum

• Focusing instruction on students’ learning styles and needs;

The above mentioned-approach involves engaging students in meaningful learning activities

Materials and methods

Table 2: Soft skills performance test results

Leadership 5.3 47 85.5

Teamwork 4.8 27 49.1

Problem solving 3.7 12 21.8

Source: Own elaboration.

Table 3: Soft skills ranking according to undergraduate students

Table 4: Soft skills valued by undergraduate students

NACE (2019). Employers want to see these attributes on Students’ Resumes.

Uso de la técnica One-Minute Paper como

Using the One-Minute Paper Technique as a formative

FERNANDO VERA1 ! SALVADOR GARCÍA-MARTÍNEZ2 ! ALBERTO FERRIZ-VALERO3

Recibido • Received: 12 / 09 / 2020

• ¿Qué es lo más importante de lo aprendido en la clase de hoy?

En la propuesta original, las respuestas a estas preguntas se entregaban en un trozo de pa-

escenario de estudio, hemos definido trabajar con universidades hispano y angloparlantes, en

Con respecto al desarrollo del pensamiento crítico, en el general, se ha encontrado que el

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