MÉTODOS CENTRADOS EN EL APRENDIZAJE, IMPLICACIÓN DEL ALUMNO Y PERCEPCIÓN DEL CONTEXTO DE APRENDIZAJE EN ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS

Abstract

In this work we wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methodson various capabilities/abilities of some students and on their perception of the learning environment developed by their professors. The sample consisted of 126 first-year students from the Catholic University of Valencia. These students belonged to three groups and they were studying the degrees of Primary Education and Early Childhood Education. One professor taught one course in Primary Education and the other one taught another course in Early Childhood Education.A pre-experimental design was used with pretest and posttest measures by means of the SEQ questionnaire; besides, the students assessed the methods used by their professors by means of a quantitative questionnaire. Furthermore, qualitative data were collected from some students from the three groups.Besides, a quasi-experimental design was used to compare the existing results between the groups both in the pre-test and in the post-test.Both professors used an innovative/centered learning methodology. The two methodological formats used by these two professors had similarities and differences, having in common the approach of aligning teaching.Significant improvements were found in the skills of the students and intheir assessment of teachers’ skills to develop a good learning environment, both in the whole sample and in each group. Comparisons between groups reflected equivalence between the groups in the pre-test and very slight differences in the post-test.The positive influence of learning-centered methods regarding to the objectives of this research was confirmed, given the aforementioned improvements which took place in the three groups. This work is relevant for the positive results obtained from a more integrative methodological approach than in other analyzed studies.