Directed Approach and Resolution of Practical Cases as a Motivation Tool for Self-Learning and Cooperation

The development of competences and practical capacities of students is getting an important incidence into the guidelines of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The methodology applied in this work is based on the education through directed resolution of practical cases. All cases are related to professional tasks that the students will have to develop in their future career. The method is intended to form the necessary competences of students of the Marine Engineering and Maritime Transport Degree in the matter of “Physics". The experience was applied in the course of 2011/2012. Students were grouped, and a practical task was assigned to them, that should be developed and solved within the team. The aim was to realize students learning by three ways: their own knowledge, the contribution of their teammates and the teacher's direction. The results of the evaluation were compared with those obtained previously by the traditional teaching method.




References:
[1] R. Carballo, Experiencias en grupo e innovaci├│n en la docencia
universitaria, Ed. Madrid: Complutense, S. A., 2002.
[2] K. Nagata, S. Ronkowski, Collaborative Learning: Differences between
Collaborative and Cooperative Learning. Ed. The Office of
Instructional Consultation, University of California, Santa Barbara.
1998.
[3] D. W. Johnson, R. T. Johnson, E. J. Holubec, El aprendizaje
cooperativo en el aula. Buenos Aires: Paid├│s, 1999.
[4] C. Suárez Guerrero, Cooperación como condición social de
aprendizaje, Ed. Barcelona: UOC, 2010.
[5] D. W. Johnson, R. T. Johnson, K. A. Smith, Cooperative Learning:
Increasing college faculty instructional productivity, ASHE-ERIC
Higher Education Report, 4. George Washington University, 1991
[6] R. Ferreiro, Estrategias didácticas del aprendizaje cooperativo. El
constructivismo social: una nueva forma de ense├▒ar y aprender.
Trillas-Eduforma, 2006.
[7] D. W. Johnson, R. T. Johnson, & E. J. Holubec, Cooperation in the
Classroom (6th ed.). Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company, 1993.
[8] E. G. Cohen, Designing Groupwork: Strategies for heterogeneous
classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press, 1994.
[9] M. A. Zabala, Evaluaci├│n de los aprendizajes en la Universidad,
Didáctica Universitaria. Madrid, 2001, pp. 261-291.
[10] M. González, M. Fernando, L. C. Herrero, M. A. Martín, I. Mozo, C.
Quintano, Actas de las II Jornadas Internacionales UPM sobre
Innovación Educativa y Convergencia Europea, Análisis de
metodolog├¡as y métodos de evaluaci├│n para el desarrollo de
competencia. Madrid, 2008.
[11] C. Mayor, El asesoramiento pedag├│gico para la formaci├│n docente del
profesorado universitario, Sevilla: Secretariado de Publicaciones de la
Universidad de Sevilla, 2007.
[12] I. Cano, Experiencias de innovaci├│n docente en la Universidad de
Alcalá, Reflexiones sobre el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Alcalá
de Henares: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alcalá de
Henares, 2007, pp. 57-81.
[13] C. Hart, P. Mulhall, A. Berry, J. Loughran, R. Gunstone. What is the
Purpose of this Experiment?: Or can students learn something from
doing experiments?, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 37,
no. 7, pp. 665-667, 2000.