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1 – 10 of 16Melany Hebles, Concepción Yaniz-Álvarez-de-Eulate and Mauricio Jara
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of a classroom application of the cooperative learning (CL) methodology on nine dimensions of business students’ teamwork…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of a classroom application of the cooperative learning (CL) methodology on nine dimensions of business students’ teamwork competence (TC).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a quasi-experimental pre-post design with a previous cohort as control group (first-year students from the year prior to treatment application), applying treatment to a sample of 228 first-year students in a School of Economics and Business at a Chilean University (114 as treatment and 114 as control).
Findings
The authors’ results show that CL had a positive, significant influence on five dimensions of TC: collective efficacy, planning, goal setting, problem solving and conflict management.
Research limitations/implications
This paper upholds the importance and effectiveness of CL in developing TC. However, the evidence suggests that the effectiveness of the CL methodology was limited to development and improvement of less complex dimensions of TC. More complex dimensions require a longer period of time to be developed.
Practical implications
This research is an important contribution to the design and implementation of appropriate methodologies for developing a widely needed area of competence in the workplace, considering its multidimensional nature, whether in academia or business.
Originality/value
This is the first study to seek empirical evidence that would link the CL methodology with TC. In addition, it fills a gap in the literature on the development of TC in its multiple dimensions. It particularly addresses the training of business professionals.
Propósito
El objetivo principal de este trabajo es analizar el impacto de la metodología Aprendizaje Cooperativo aplicada en aula en nueve dimensiones de la Competencia Trabajo en Equipo en estudiantes de negocios.
Diseño/Metodología/Enfoque
Se ha empleado un diseño cuasi experimental pre-post test con grupo cuasi control en una cohorte anterior (curso de primer año del año previo a la aplicación del tratamiento), aplicada a 228 estudiantes de 1° año de una Facultad de Economía y Negocios de una Universidad Chilena (114 de tratamiento y 114 de control).
Resultados
Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto un efecto positivo y significativo de la metodología Aprendizaje Cooperativo sobre cinco dimensiones de la Competencia Trabajo en Equipo, las cuales son eficacia colectiva, planificación, establecimiento de objetivos, resolución de problemas, y gestión de conflictos.
Limitaciones/Implicancias
El presente trabajo sostiene la importancia de emplear una metodología de Aprendizaje Cooperativo en la formación de la Competencia Trabajo en Equipo. No obstante, la evidencia presentada sugiere que la aplicación de la metodología Aprendizaje Cooperativo es significativa para dimensiones de menor complejidad en su desarrollo, ya que aquellas más complejas requieren de un horizonte más largo para ser adquiridas.
Implicancias prácticas
Esta investigación supone una contribución importante para el diseño e implementación de metodologías adecuadas para la formación de una competencia ampliamente requerida en el mundo profesional, considerando su carácter multidimensional, tanto en el ámbito universitario como empresarial.
Originalidad/Valor
Es el primer estudio que busca evidencia empírica acerca de la relación entre la aplicación de una metodología de Aprendizaje Cooperativo y la Competencia Trabajo en Equipo. Adicionalmente, complementa un vacío en la literatura a la formación de la Competencia Trabajo en Equipo desde sus múltiples dimensiones. En especial, en la formación de profesionales de los negocios.
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Albert Sangrà, Mercedes González-Sanmamed and Montse Guitert
This chapter aims to show how the inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach can be successfully used in online education. To this purpose, we will present the experience of the…
Abstract
This chapter aims to show how the inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach can be successfully used in online education. To this purpose, we will present the experience of the Digital Competence Program at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, which is designed considering the principles of collaborative work, implemented with a wide range of educational resources taking advantage of ICT benefits, is delivered online, and is finally evaluated from opinions voiced by students. In addition, it is a good example of a multidisciplinary approach since it covers several disciplines and helps to acquire a number of skills that professionals require in their personal and social environments and at the workplace.
Carmina Fandos-Herrera, Carolina Herrando, Julio Jiménez Martínez and José Miguel Pina
Traditional teaching strategies are making way for a more collaborative learning style, where students play active roles in their learning process. This work focuses on the…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditional teaching strategies are making way for a more collaborative learning style, where students play active roles in their learning process. This work focuses on the discussant role activity in the market research subject in a business administration bachelor's degree as a way of empowering students' role. The discussant activity fosters critical thinking and debate between classmates while also encouraging communication and relational skills.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on expectation-disconfirmation theory, this study analysed students' expectations and perceptions before and after the discussant activity. Data were collected through two surveys carried out in class at the beginning and at the end of the course.
Findings
The empirical findings show that interactions in the classroom during the activity contribute to students' final evaluation of the activity and positively affect cross-curricular and subjective learning performance.
Originality/value
Activities that recreate real-life experiences help students in the acquisition of certain key competencies related to their future inclusion in the labour market.
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Natalia Larraz, Sandra Vázquez and Marta Liesa
The purpose of this study is to analyze and assess the impact of cooperative learning in the acquisition of generic skills in teaching students.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze and assess the impact of cooperative learning in the acquisition of generic skills in teaching students.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology underlying this research has a qualitative orientation. An ad hoc questionnaire has been used as an instrument, in addition to a team notebook, and the observation as procedure to analyze the perceptions of the students in the process.
Findings
The main results indicate that thanks to the active methodologies, more specifically, the cooperative learning, students develop and improve transferable skills, such as negotiation, leadership, teamwork, reflection, etc. Similarly, the authors have observed improvements in the classroom environment and their social interactions.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations and possible implications of this study are in the direction of analyzing the implemented cooperative learning methodology techniques to observe the existence of differences in learning. Moreover, they are also related to the analyzing of individual implications for teamwork to assess group learning and its influence on motivation and teamwork. Finally, they are related to the analysis of the involvement of observation and self-regulatory mechanisms in the teamwork learning.
Practical implications
With this research, the authors incise in the necessary methodological change in universities, responding to the demands of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and highlight the importance of using active methodologies.
Social implications
Cooperative learning is an effective teacher training tool for future teachers who will have to develop in an interpersonal context and, in turn, will teach students who need to acquire a personal and social skills.
Originality/value
This paper evaluates the impact of using active methodologies and how they contribute to the development of transversal or generic competencies in a real context of university learning.
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M. Amparo Núñez-Andrés, Antonio Martinez-Molina, Núria Casquero-Modrego and Jae Yong Suk
The importance of sustainability in architecture currently necessitates the integration of innovative teaching strategies on the subject into architecture programs. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of sustainability in architecture currently necessitates the integration of innovative teaching strategies on the subject into architecture programs. This study aims to introduce and examine peer learning pedagogy by peer tutoring to educate architecture students in sustainable design.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on class assignments proposed in two different architecture sustainability-focused courses in the second and fourth years of the Bachelor of Science in architecture program, a total of 103 students assessed the proposed peer learning experience and its impact on their sustainability mindsets and education. Subjective surveys for evaluating the peer learning experience were designed and delivered at different stages of the course sequences. A total of 502 survey responses were obtained in the study.
Findings
The qualitative and quantitative data analysis confirms that the proposed peer learning by peer tutoring increased students’ knowledge, motivation and commitment to sustainable design. In addition, participants became more confident in applying sustainable design skills and their academic grades improved more than 25% compared to previous courses using traditional teaching methods.
Originality/value
Traditional architecture education has long been criticized for their pedagogical methodologies based primarily on passive learning. Recently, these programs have begun to prepare students to become active learners and communicators in collaborative and multidisciplinary environments. A mixed-method approach of combining pre-/post-experience surveys and analysis of final grades was used to determine the level of success and the quantifiable behavior change delivered by students involved in this peer learning experience.
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Rocio Serrano, Washington Macias, Katia Rodriguez and María Isabel Amor
The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess the expectations of university teachers about the importance of generic competences in Higher…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess the expectations of university teachers about the importance of generic competences in Higher Education Institutions of Ecuador (E-DUC, acronym in Spanish), based on the competences typology from the Tuning Latin America Project.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire with Likert scales was administered to 458 university teachers from seven universities in Ecuador. Exploratory and confirmatory analyzes have been carried out to validate the theoretical model.
Findings
After the validation process, four groups of generic competences were confirmed and the measurement model showed high levels of reliability, as well as content and construct validity.
Research limitations/implications
Since tuning project has an international scope, the research could be replicated in other Latin American countries for comparability purposes regarding teachers’ perceived importance of generic competences in teaching activity. In addition, further research can relate teachers’ expectations with teaching performance and other constructs, based on a broad theoretical framework.
Practical implications
These technical characteristics allow the use of E-DUC as an instrument to measure the expectations of teachers on the general competences that are worked on in higher education in Ecuador. Data about these perceptions are useful for the design of teachers’ training programs, curriculum reforms and other higher education policies.
Originality/value
It is the first research carried out in Ecuador and Latin America in order to validate a scale for measuring the expectations of teachers about the importance of the generic competences proposed in the Tuning Latin America Project.
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Robinsson Cardona-Cano, Esteban López-Zapata and Juan Velez-Ocampo
The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of the transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles and collaborative integrative behavior of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of the transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles and collaborative integrative behavior of the team with respect to organizational ambidexterity (the combination of exploration and exploitation learning) in university research groups.
Design/methodology/approach
From a survey conducted with a sample of 506 researchers, members of 165 research groups, working in an emerging economy, a multiple regression model analysis was performed.
Findings
Findings of this study provide evidence that the coordinator's transformational leadership and the collaborative integrative behavior of the team positively influence organizational ambidexterity of research groups. Transactional leadership and laissez-faire style do not show any significant influence.
Originality/value
This study addresses the lack of knowledge regarding organizational learning in research groups to explore and exploit knowledge through research result transfer processes based on the organizational ambidexterity logic in higher education institutions (HEIs) from emerging economies. The study aims to contribute to the literature on leadership styles and ambidexterity in HEIs in emerging economies, particularly in Latin America, where there is still a scarcity of research on the attributes of effective leadership.
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Yolanda Muñoz-Martínez, Cecilia Simon Rueda and MªLuz M. Fernández-Blázquez
This study analyses the barriers and facilitators for the educational inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the perspective of their teachers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyses the barriers and facilitators for the educational inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the perspective of their teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology was applied, specifically a multiple case study from which 24 in-depth interviews were conducted with teachers who had worked previously with students with ASD. The participants were Spanish teachers from different educational stages (from early childhood education to baccalaureate) and with different roles (ordinary classroom teachers and support teachers).
Findings
The results show that collaboration amongst teachers, their attitudes, the way of understanding the supports, the creation of collaboration between students and the organisation of both the school and the classroom are important for the inclusion of students with ASD. The analyses and discussion of the facilitators for the inclusion of these students are especially relevant, since they provide useful guidance for teachers who want to respond to the right of these students to an inclusive education.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations and future research lines of this study are related to the logic of amplitude and depth, respectively. Regarding amplitude, the authors highlighted the importance of gathering the voices of professionals committed to the development of more inclusive practices; however, the authors also identified the need to expand the listening to the voices of teachers who do not have such experience. This raises a possible future research line: to explore how to reach teachers with no experience in inclusive education in order to contribute to the transformation of their practice.
Practical implications
There is extensive knowledge within the classrooms, which the authors aimed to demonstrate in this study, with the hope that others can learn from it. The obtained results are useful to every teacher who wishes to create an inclusive school. In agreement with the consideration of inclusive education as a process, this investigation identified strategies and resources that facilitate the learning and participation of students with ASD, as well as barriers that must be tackled to advance in this regard.
Originality/value
The authors aimed to contribute to understanding the advances in the development of the right to inclusive education. To this end, the authors gathered the voices of teachers (those from the ordinary classroom and those considered “support teachers”) from regular schools that welcome students with ASD and which had a history of commitment to the development of more inclusive education. There is extensive knowledge within the classrooms, which the authors aimed to demonstrate in this study, with the hope that others can learn from it. The obtained results are useful to every teacher who wishes to create an inclusive school.
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This study aims to explain the evaluation of a training programme for older adults to make them facilitators of a memory training project. Older adults were trained as…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explain the evaluation of a training programme for older adults to make them facilitators of a memory training project. Older adults were trained as facilitators to respond to the need to continue training memory and promote the active role of adults in the community.
Design/methodology/approach
The Kirkpatrick model was used to comprehensively evaluate the training programme. The participants were 89 older adults from the city of Barcelona, with an average age of 73.1 years old. To evaluate the training programme, six instruments were administered, adapted to the four levels established in Kirkpatrick’s model.
Findings
The results obtained show that the programme to train facilitators enables older adults to become facilitators in a memory training project.
Research limitations/implications
Two limitations have been identified. The first is to analyse the extent to which the participants learned from the facilitator’s memory training project. The second is the methodological improvement for future research on two issues: strengthening the validity of the instruments and incorporating a control group.
Practical implications
The implications for practice, presented in this article, are twofold. One is the importance of lifelong learning as a resource for remaining healthy. Another implication is the active role of older adults in the community.
Originality/value
This research enables older adults to become involved in responding to their own needs such as memory training. In turn, it contributes to promoting active ageing and community participation.
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Gina Camacho-Minuche, Verónica Espinoza-Celi and Eva Ulehlova
The aim was to prove the efficacy of the five cooperative learning elements applied in English classrooms and to demonstrate how effective they were to develop social skills in…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim was to prove the efficacy of the five cooperative learning elements applied in English classrooms and to demonstrate how effective they were to develop social skills in students.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative approach allowed to analyse the data in order to determine the benefits of using these elements which help students to create a good rapport among them and do more productive activities to retain the knowledge. The instruments were Cooperative Learning Activity Planning Template that included 20 major steps in designing and assessing a cooperative learning activity designed by Susan Johnston. Additionally, rubrics that included the cooperative learning elements: face-to-face (promotive) interaction, positive interdependence, individual accountability, group processing and collaborative skills were necessary to assess students' accomplished tasks.
Findings
Furthermore, when students played different roles, they attained their goal and did cooperative tasks more productively. All mentioned above enables Ecuadorian educational institutions to include better teaching methods and provokes consciousness of students' accomplishment towards their goals.
Research limitations/implications
In the beginning, some constraints were presented; students did not have a clear idea about the main difference between group work and cooperative work. However, once they were aware of cooperative learning elements, they did incorporate them appropriately in each assigned activity which allowed them to obtain better results. Another limitation referred to master students who did not always provide learners with constant monitoring when they were working on cooperative activities; they simply believed that strong students could help the rest in the group if there was any inconvenience with the task, taking this situation for granted.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is reflected in the results obtained in the final product students presented since they used the elements in a more effective way to build social skills and achieve higher grades.
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