This research responds to the national context of higher education in the field of design with respect to the teaching and learning of forms of visual representation. It is based on Elliot Eisner s analytical approach. The thesis consists of a series of qualitative studies applied between 2011 and 2016 in the Universidad Iberoamericana s Bachelor of Graphic Design program, and in which the author engaged in the participant observation of the teaching-learning dynamic in drawing and sketching classes. The dissertation identifies the principal characteristics related to the development of competencies, skills and capacities in the visual representation of drawing and sketching. The evidence obtained is useful for the purposes of student evaluation and for the accreditation of institutions of higher education.