The Effectiveness of the Wiki as a Collaborative Learning Tool for Learning International Economic Policy

Abstract

According to our experience as teachers of economic policy using different educational tools, we consider convenient to review the teaching methods in order to overcome the teaching-learning scheme that overvalues rote teaching ability. The aim is to find formulas where students become active protagonist of the learning process and facilitate the development of analytical skills. With this objective we have introduced web 2.0 in the classroom to facilitate the collaborative learning in an economic policy course. This paper analyses the results of a didactic methodology based on a combination of collaborative learning and project-based learning using the wiki. According to the students’ opinions we can concluded that the Wiki is a tool that facilitates the process of collaborative learning and self-management working, promotes self-learning ability and is an useful pedagogical platform for presenting argued ideas. Additionally, the use of the wiki allows monitoring and evaluation of individual contributions within a group work by the teacher.