Combining collaborative learning strategies in an energy engineering master course

Abstract

[EN] Since 2010, many engineering Bachelors and Masters courses in the European Higher Education Area have been re-designed in terms of contents and methodology, among other reasons as consequence of the Bologna Declaration. From a visual aspect, blackboard-based teaching moved to projected transparencies and later on to computer-assisted presentations. Although the resources have changed, the global didactic approach has remained relatively similar. In many cases, the teacher still has a central standpoint in the teaching and learning process. Such an approach is perhaps not the best to face student weaknesses such as the lack of concentration, motivation and critical skills. In order to better face this problem, three different collaborative learning methods have been adopted in the master subject Advanced solar thermal technologies taught at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain). The teaching methods which have been employed involve enquiry-based activities, business games and a solar cooker competition. This paper describes firstly the different active learning methods and secondly, it presents a discussion on the results of a survey which was answered by 23 out of the 29 students of the subject. The results indicate that students appreciate very positively the introduction of the three active-learning strategies. In overall, the solar cooker competition has revealed to be the most effective of the three strategies with respect to the assimilation of concepts (83% agreement), to the exchange of opinions (87%), to the increase of learning (higher personal motivation, 78%), and the development of critical thinking (74%). Nevertheless, the business games or the enquiry-based activities also stand out individually for different reasons and in general, can be applied more easily in other subjects. For this reason, in a final stage, a methodology-planning is suggested for engineering studies, combining the benefits and limitations of each of the different teaching techniques.