My teaching philosophy.
Picture of Dr. Alejandro Jiménez Rios teaching philosophy

Teaching

My first teaching experience came during my senior years of Bachelor's studies when the Student Union invited me to facilitate a short course on Computer Aided Design (CAD) for first-year students from the Department of Civil Engineering. I found this experience to be both fulfilling and rewarding.

As a Phd student at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, I received my first formal teaching and pedagogical education by participating in several workshops and courses facilitated by the Academic Practice unit. These included:

  • Reflective Teaching Assistantship Course.
  • CAPSL Postgraduate Teaching Assistant Workshop: How Students Learn?
  • CAPSL Postgraduate Teaching Assistant Workshop: Session Planning.

Moreover, I received formal training on Programme Focused Assessment (from which I obtained a digital badge) and I worked as an Assessment Assistant, supporting Trinity Assessment Fellows to map and analyze assessment practices within Schools across the University.

I have also been involved in the design of new study programs. In 2021, Dr. Miguel Zamora Palacios, Head of the Department of Civil and Topographic Engineering at University of Guadalajara, Mexico, invited me to participate in the Committee of the creation of a new Master's Program in Civil Engineering, set to launch in 2023.

My teaching philosophy centers around creating an active, inclusive, and safe learning environment that fosters deep learning knowledge acquisition among my students. I believe technology can greatly enhance student learning, especially when applied in line with evidence-based best teaching practices. My goal is to equip my students with the skills and knowledge necessary for success in the field and empower them with learning tools that will enable them to take ownership of their own learning and professional development. I conduct myself with integrity adhering to the strict codes of conduct established by the institutions where I work. I strive to adopt diversity, equity, and inclusion principles by respecting the identity, nationality, socioeconomic level, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and age of my students and colleagues. I am interested in implementing a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) approach in my teaching practice. This aims to contribute to the improvement of teaching in structural engineering by publishing and sharing my experiences and expertise in educational journals and specialized conferences.

Formal Teaching Education

Dr. Alejandro Jiménez Rios UHPED Certificate

Title: Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (UHPED).

University: Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway.

Year: 2023.

Compulsory qualification offer that meets the minimum requirement for basic pedagogical competence for academic staff at universities and colleges: i)Student learning in higher education, ii) Designing teaching in higher education, iii) Assessment and evaluation in higher education, iv) Forms of knowledge in professional education, and v) Research supervision.

Dr. Alejandro Jiménez Rios E-learning Certificate

Title: 10th Online E-Learning Seminar for University Professors.

University: The Catholic University of "Santa Teresa de Jesús de Ávila" (UCAV), Spain.

Year: 2022.

Carried out from Dec 12 2022 to Dec 16 2022, with a total duration of 10 hour/s, following the curriculum/programme: 1) Assessment in ICT-supported learning environments, 2) Online game-based learning, 3) The transformation of teaching in online learning environments, 4) Strategies for teaching science and technology online and 5) Strategies for teaching social sciences online.

Dr. Alejandro Jiménez Rios Digital Badge

Title: Digital badge on Programme-Focused Assessment.

Institution: National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

Year: 2019.

Highlight the value of exploring assessment from a programmatic perspective. Discuss the role of mapping and dialogue in understanding what's going on in their programme in order to identify change. Complete an aspect of programme assessment mapping or dialogue. Re􀃙ect on the challenges and enablers of this mapping or dialogue process.

Teaching Activity

Since 2024 I have been a Lecturer in Structural Engineering at the Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering, University of Bath, in the following undergraduate and graduate courses:

  • MSc Conservation of Historic Buildings.
    • AR50473 Structural Conservation.
  • BEng and MEng in Civil Engineering/Structural Engineering and Architecture.
    • AR30315 Dissertations.

As part of my DTADD project at Oslo Metropolitan University, I participated as co-Lecturer at the Department of Built Environment in the following undergraduate and graduate courses:

  • BYTS2500 Concrete Constructions.
  • MABY4100 Finite Element Method in Structural Analysis.

I have supervised the following students on the completion of their Bachelor, Master or PhD thesis:

I have also supervised the following European Project Semester projects:

  • Students: Claire Ristow, Onni Heino, Quentin Pierson, Kathy Chhean, and Lara Smit.
    Title: Tilting Table Tests of Masonry Assemblies.
    Advisor: Dr. Alejandro Jiménez Rios.
    Degree: Bachelor Thesis.
    Institution: Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway.
    Year: 2023.

I have participated as examiner of the following Bachelor, Master or PhD thesis:

  • Students: Berhane Desta Teame and Natnael Russom Afeworki.
    Title: Towards more eco-efficient Ultra High-Performance Concrete.
    Advisors: Dr. Mahdi Kioumarsi and Dr. Sarra Drissi.
    Degree: Master Thesis.
    Institution: Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway.
    Year: 2023.
  • Students: Atle Berczelly Schwach and Jacob Olsson Løkhaug.
    Title: Integrating Innovative Technologies for Structural Assessment and Optimisation in Building Design.
    Advisors: Dr Awais Ahmed and Karoline Baksaas Hersleth.
    Degree: Master Thesis.
    Institution: Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway.
    Year: 2023.

During my PhD at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, I worked as Teaching Assistant at the Departments of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, where I taught in the following undergraduate and graduate engineering courses:

  • 2E9 Engineering design.
  • 3A2 Structural design.
  • 2E8 Materials.
  • 3E4 Innovation and entrepreneurship.
  • 2E4 Solids and structures.
  • 4E6 Advanced theory of structures.
  • 2E4 Solids and structures.
  • 3B3 Mechanics of solids.
  • C05 Spatial analysis using GIS.

During my PhD at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, I Organized and facilitated a series of one-day workshops on conservation, vernacular architecture, earthen construction techniques and sustainability:

  • Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Students Workshop.
  • Trinity Green Week 2019 Workshop.
  • University College Dublin (UCD) and Dublin Technical University (DTU) Architecture Students Workshops.