Collaborative Learning Methodology Research Articles

Collaborative Online International Learning in Physiology: A Case Study.

Internationalisation in higher education is essential, and although active learning methodologies are increasing and allow students to develop transversal skills, most still have a very local scope. In this context, the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) methodology is an interesting approach to benefit the students' development. It consists of an online program that involves creating multicultural teams to develop a specific learning project. Although this methodology is expanding, its use in physiology is still scarce. This paper aims to show an example of applying COIL methodology in physiology topics to enhance higher-education students' innovation and business skills. Our example project developed a sports-assessment service concept focused on physiology and biomechanics assessments. The program involved teams from Brazil, Germany, and Spain, comprising undergraduate and master students. Over seven weeks, these teams, mentored by professors and researchers, engaged in workshops covering COIL methodology, business model design, executive summary planning, economic analyses, and communication techniques. Key outcomes included learning new concepts, developing soft skills, building confidence in innovative solution proposals, and experiencing diverse cultures. Challenges faced were language barriers, scheduling, task complexity, and logistical issues. This experience confirms the effectiveness of incorporating programs using COIL methodology into educational curriculums. Doing so exposes physiology students to innovation, entrepreneurship, and business creation while strengthening their professional connections and opening up post-graduation opportunities.

Responsible marketing and consumption: a teaching experience based on challenges and sustainability as cross-cutting themes

This study aims to determine whether marketing can be an effective tool to influence society towards responsible consumption while simultaneously contributing to social causes, and teaching higher education students the fundamentals of marketing through various practices implemented during the academic year. Focusing on the Writing Material Recycling Project at the University of Alicante (Spain), the research highlights how this project, initiated in 2014, has promoted sustainability and supported social causes through the recycling of disposable writing materials. The project employs active collaborative learning methodologies based on projects, challenges, action, and service. The results support that this approach has not only contributed to environmental and social causes but has also raised awareness among students about sustainability, helping them acquire skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, and creativity, among others, preparing them for future professional challenges. The study concludes that marketing and the Writing Material Recycling Project can play a crucial role in promoting sustainable consumption, supporting social causes, and educating students in the fundamentals of marketing, while promoting personal development and acquiring new skills among the student body.

Blending of collaborative and active learning instructional methods to improve academic performance and self-motivation of vocational students

This study delves into the integration of collaborative and active learning methodologies as a means to enhance both academic achievement and self-motivation among students in the realm of vocational education. Collaborative learning, with its emphasis on teamwork, problem-solving, and social responsibility, complements the active learning approach, which fosters autonomy, deep understanding, and critical thinking. Together, these strategies form a comprehensive framework that not only facilitates academic excellence but also cultivates the lifelong learning skills imperative for sustained career success. While the potential benefits of collaborative and active learning are evident, the study acknowledges the existence of practical challenges, including limited resources and resistance from educators. Addressing these challenges is paramount for the effective implementation of these pedagogical approaches. Overcoming such obstacles will empower vocational education to harness the transformative potential of collaboration and active learning, equipping students with the necessary skills and motivation to thrive in their chosen careers. By navigating these challenges successfully, educators and institutions can create an environment that prepares students not only for the demands of their immediate professions but also for the dynamic challenges of the evolving professional landscape.

Case-Based Learning: An Analysis of Student Groupwork and Instructional Design that Promotes Collaborative Discussion

The use of small-group collaborative case-based learning methodologies has been growing both in interest and implementation across veterinary college curriculums in recent years. The ability of this pedagogical approach to solidify and deepen learning outcomes is well-established in the broader education literature. However, to achieve this positive impact, students must interact in productive discussions that expand the scope of their understanding. The present study focused on analyzing the ways in which professional veterinary students interact as they work collaboratively through clinical cases, in the context of a Team-Based Learning intensive curriculum. This data was used to draw connections between the questions posed in the clinical case activities and the resulting intragroup collaborative outcomes, which can assist veterinary educators in sparking more robust student discussions through facilitation and instructional design. Fourteen participants formed two student groups that worked on 49 case questions across 5 sessions, providing 98 episodes of collaboration for analysis. The findings of this study revealed how professional veterinary students negotiated perspectives to come to consensus on in-class case-based learning tasks, including eight primary types of statements they made and seven overall patterns of group collaboration. This study highlighted specific elements of instructional design that influenced student collaboration including: allowing for multiple perspectives, sparking disagreement, perceived difficulty, learning outcome level, and the level of consensus required by the question structure. We present specific recommendations for veterinary educators to consider while designing questions for veterinary student groups.

Cooperative, Collaborative, and Related Strategies’ Effect on Learning in Children with Autism

When the right circumstances are met, children with autism can engage in settings for general education and have a successful educational career. A truly inclusive learning environment and research-based inclusion techniques must be in place for children with autism to be successfully included. The research studies that concentrate on cooperative and collaborative learning methodologies are reviewed in this article. The article concludes by outlining the need for additional study. This study examined 29 research studies using cooperative, collaborative, and related techniques with children with autism. Each article had to meet these requirements to be included: 1. describe the use of an evidence-based intervention for at least one participant with ASD. 2. Consist of at least one collaborative, cooperative, or related method. 3. Research needed to be conducted in an inclusive setting and finally, 4. The reviewed articles had to have been released in 2010 or later.

The use of international collaborative online learning methodology in a medical course – a learning experience

INTRODUCTION: The Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) methodology uses a strategy called “Mirror classroom”, where two or more teachers and students from different teaching institutions can share a course through the use of technological tools. The rise of the COIL methodology increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, once Higher Education Institutions had to develop support strategies in digital formats to give continuity to the academic mobility processes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to present the COIL strategy as a hybrid education method that facilitates learning and peer interaction in a class at the Faculty of Medicine of a University in Colombia. METHODOLOGY: For the realization of the collaborative experience, the students with their groups must carry out a bibliographical search in databases (PubMed, Science Direct, and Embase) related to the topic under discussion related to genes, nutrition, and obesity. Based on the information they compiled, they will have to create a creative infographic where they will expose the importance of genetic expression and its relationship to the obesity process. Finally, make a video exposing the results of the research carried out. CONCLUSION: The international collaborative work methodology is an educational strategy that allows the development of soft skills in students and teachers, and the development of teamwork skills, among many others. This type of education allows interpersonal relationships with people who have different locations worldwide.

Collaborative learning in management subjects to university students: A multi-level research to identify group profile, engagement and academic performance

Our research has consisted of a multilevel analysis of work groups within the framework of collaborative learning methodology through the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) approach with respect to students who operate through a non-CSCL approach as a group of students control. The objective, in addition to examining to what extent the CSCL approach is more beneficial for academic performance, has been to identify the individual and group characteristics associated with work groups through the behavior of a set of variables. The research uses academic results obtained from a sample of 367 university students. The factors that most strongly contribute to reactive-positive behavior within the analyzed group profiles are the use of the CSCL approach, a higher average age of the group, a higher level of university experience, and a high level of qualification to access the degree required by the university.

Creation of a Digital Learning Ecosystem Using Research-Based Learning for Future Programming Teachers

Training future programming teachers requires an innovative approach. Not only students need to handle the most current trends in technologies and teaching-learning methodologies, but also they must develop the capacity and criteria to search and select the most adequate to their context. This work analyzes the application of a collaborative Research-Based Learning methodology in the Programming subject of a master's degree in teacher training. The objective was to create a digital learning ecosystem and analyze the impact on the development of programming teaching skills. The results show that students perceive positive effects on the development of teaching skills, generating useful resources. However, teamwork has conditioned the quality of such resources. The digital ecosystem has allowed students to share knowledge with their peers and forthcoming students. Students who already had the generated ecosystem available valued it very positively. Future programming teachers require lifelong learning which can be supported by this living ecosystem.

COLLABORATIVE ENGINEERING AND ITS IMPLICATION IN THE ORGANIZATIONAL ENGAGEMENT IN THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

As suggested by several previous studies, employee and managerial engagement is a key factor in an organization's productivity and performance. Positive leadership styles, social support and autonomy, among others, have been proposed as predictors of engagement. Collaborative learning has multiple advantages over learning in competitive and individual situations, including the development of high-skill social competencies, and collaboration and teamwork per se. This paper analyses the correlation between the level of engagement, employees' perception of collaboration and other common predictors of organizational engagement over a seven-year period of field analysis (2014-2020) in multinational companies in the industrial sector. The study shows that the perception of collaboration is significantly positively correlated with engagement and can be a good predictor of engagement. This suggests the suitability of both the adoption of collaborative learning methodologies to middle and higher degrees linked to industry, as well as the promotion by industrial organizations of the application of collaborative engineering and other methods and means for collaborative work.

Successful Reduction of Postoperative Chest Tube Duration and Length of Stay After Congenital Heart Surgery: A Multicenter Collaborative Improvement Project.

BackgroundCongenital heart disease practices and outcomes vary significantly across centers, including postoperative chest tube (CT) management, which may impact postoperative length of stay (LOS). We used collaborative learning methods to determine whether centers could adapt and safely implement best practices for CT management, resulting in reduced postoperative CT duration and LOS.Methods and ResultsNine pediatric heart centers partnered together through 2 learning networks. Patients undergoing 1 of 9 benchmark congenital heart operations were included. Baseline data were collected from June 2017 to June 2018, and intervention‐phase data were collected from July 2018 to December 2019. Collaborative learning methods included review of best practices from a model center, regular data feedback, and quality improvement coaching. Center teams adapted CT removal practices (eg, timing, volume criteria) from the model center to their local resources, practices, and setting. Postoperative CT duration in hours and LOS in days were analyzed using statistical process control methodology. Overall, 2309 patients were included. Patient characteristics did not differ between the study and intervention phases. Statistical process control analysis showed an aggregate 15.6% decrease in geometric mean CT duration (72.6 hours at baseline to 61.3 hours during intervention) and a 9.8% reduction in geometric mean LOS (9.2 days at baseline to 8.3 days during intervention). Adverse events did not increase when comparing the baseline and intervention phases: CT replacement (1.8% versus 2.0%, P=0.56) and readmission for pleural effusion (0.4% versus 0.5%, P=0.29).ConclusionsWe successfully lowered postoperative CT duration and observed an associated reduction in LOS across 9 centers using collaborative learning methodology.

An Experience of the Application of Glossaries and Wikis for Collaborative Learning of the Materials Science Subject

In this study, wikis and glossaries as complementary and optional tools to develop an active methodology based on online peer-learning with the objective of promoting active participation, the acquisition of competences and improving in the teaching-learning process, as well as, the academic performance in the subject Materials Science of the Chemistry Degree of the students’ self-learning during two academic years. Making use of the learning management system ILIAS, a collaborative learning environment has been created by and for students. The problems found in the experience carried out during the first academic year have been described. The analysis and corrective actions carried out have allowed more satisfactory results to be obtained during the following academic year in which this methodology was applied. Students have been asked a questionnaire to find out their perception of the competences they consider to have consolidated and / or developed with the collaborative work carried out. The impact of the implementation of collaborative learning methodology on the academic performance of students has been obtained through the analysis of academic results The implication of students has contributed successfully to the acquisition of competences and self-learning, providing them with more control over their own learning process.

The Social and Transfer Massive Open Online Course: Post-Digital Learning

This research provides a current view on post-digital learning experiences with a massive open online course (MOOC), in relation to user profiles, universal instructional design, digital resources, inclusive activities and collaborative assessment. The study is based on a mixed research methodology, creating a questionnaire aimed at people with experience in any MOOC typology, in which the learning methodology, the instructional didactic design of the MOOCs, the resources, proposed activities, and accessibility are analyzed. Additionally, interviews and focus groups were carried out with the creators of massive open online social courses alongside the students of the official Master of Communication and Education on the Internet, offered by the UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia—Spain), with the subject of virtual participation scenarios. The data obtained are subjected to statistical tests to determine the scientific rigor, such as Cronbach’s alpha, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test, and the non-parametric tests of Spearman’s correlation coefficient and Kendall’s Tau b. In conclusion, the social massive open online course/transfer massive open online course model is evidenced as a projected approach in social networks. The sMOOC and tMOOC are online training models, which are in constant development and evolution, as a social, creative, collaborative, interactive, and inclusive learning methodology, offering new challenges for the digital distance education of the future. The research carried out is only related and linked to the experiences of different people with the sMOOC and tMOOC.

Programming course for health science as a strategy to engage students during the coronavirus pandemic.

Programming is an important skill for different areas of knowledge. While in the past, programming skills were much more related to fields of computer sciences and engineering, today, professionals from different areas benefit from the ability to write codes for different applications. Furthermore, programming stimulates logical thinking, which impacts other personal abilities. Health science students have limited exposure to programming during their studies. Aware of this and considering the prolonged time in social distancing in Brazil due to the SARS-COV2 pandemic in 2020, we organized an outreach course dedicated to teaching introductory concepts of programming for health science students. The activity was developed fully online using the Zoom web conference agent, lasting 12 wk (8 synchronous classes, 15 synchronous hours in total), and attended by 27 undergraduate and graduate students from two different universities. A collaborative problem-based learning and group-learning methodology were developed through asynchronous homework and mainly online synchronous activities. In this article, we describe our approach and provide some suggestions for replicating the course in other universities. We observed that the activities of the outreach course improved programming skills and confidence for most of the students. More importantly, it piqued their interest enough to motivate them to continue to practice writing and testing their programs. We concluded that an outreach course dedicated to programming promoted improvements in programming skills in health science students. Furthermore, the program was an opportunity to keep the students active in science while working from their homes during the pandemic.

Satisfacción del profesorado y alumnado con el empleo de Metodologías de Aprendizaje Colaborativo mediada por las TIC: Dos estudios de casos

This article evaluates the level of satisfaction of teachers and students when they work with collaborative learning methodologies through Information and Communication Technologies in the teaching-learning process. For this purpose, several case studies were analyzed where the strengths and weaknesses that students and teachers encounter when they use these experiences were explored. The study it has been made in the Dominican Republic (secondary or high school) and was carried out with a sample of 57 students and 2 teachers. The mixed method was used to analyze the pedagogical records used by teachers and observers and the rubric completed by the students. The findings show that the evaluation of activities in contexts of collaborative learning with ICT remains a weak point for the teacher, who is afraid of making mistakes and misjudging the students work.

An experience of the application of glossaries and wikis for collaborative learning of the Materials Science subject

In this study, wikis and glossaries as complementary and optional tools to develop an active methodology based on online peer-learning with the objective of promoting active participation, the acquisition of competences and improving in the teaching-learning process, as well as, the academic performance in the subject Materials Science of the Chemistry Degree of the students’ self-learning during two academic years. Making use of the learning management system ILIAS, a collaborative learning environment has been created by and for students. The problems found in the experience carried out during the first academic year have been described. The analysis and corrective actions carried out have allowed more satisfactory results to be obtained during the following academic year in which this methodology was applied. Students have been asked a questionnaire to find out their perception of the competences they consider to have consolidated and / or developed with the collaborative work carried out. The impact of the implementation of collaborative learning methodology on the academic performance of students has been obtained through the analysis of academic results The implication of students has contributed successfully to the acquisition of competences and self-learning, providing them with more control over their own learning process.

The Challenge of Increasing the Effectiveness of Learning by Using Active Methodologies

One of the most important objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is quality education, which is related to reducing school dropouts. To this end, the use of active learning methodologies improves the motivation, facilitating the learning process and, hence, reducing the dropouts. The present study proposes a methodological approach based on collaborative learning, titled: Presentation–Questions–Answers (PQA). The aim of the research is to determine whether the use of a collaborative learning methodology affects the motivation and learning of students studying theoretical content. An analytical experimental linear study was developed, whereby students were distributed across two groups, (i) a control group, which employed a lecture-based traditional approach, and (ii) an experimental group, which employed a collaborative methodology. Pre-and post-tests were carried out to assess the knowledge and motivation of students using the Situational Motivation Scale (validated scale) and a specific knowledge scale. Improvement was found in the effectiveness of the experimental group regarding the control group, with findings showing that the group utilizing the collaborative methodology acquired 64% more knowledge than the control group during the same period. However, no significant changes were found in either the intrinsic or the extrinsic motivation of the students in either group. The results prove that the use of collaborative learning maintains students’ motivation and is more effective than lecture-based methods in learning theoretical content.

A Case for Team-Based Learning as an Effective Collaborative Learning Methodology in Higher Education

This paper reports the results from the implementation of Team-Based Learning (TBL) methodology at a large Australian university. The study found a significant difference between students’ learning experience and hours spent studying pre and post TBL. The study also found a significant positive relationship between in-built TBL assessments and finals grades pointing to the capacity of TBL to predict performance. Findings of the study present valuable practical implications for academics looking to implement carefully structured collaborative learning methodologies that effectively enhance student engagement, experience and learning along with fostering teamwork and communication skills.

Improving Knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals through a Collaborative Learning Methodology and Serious Game

The university is a key agent in the process of transformation towards sustainability within the framework of the 2030 Agenda. This study aims to analyze the usefulness of the collaborative learning methodology through a serious game (SG) in the university environment to increase the level of knowledge and the importance given to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by students. Through ex ante and ex post questionnaires, the degree of variation in the knowledge acquired and importance given to the SDGs was measured. To compare the midrange of these two samples and determine whether differences existed, we applied the Student and Wilcoxon t-tests. The results indicate that the methodology used produced an improvement in knowledge about the SDGs. Therefore, it is concluded that the university should promote this type of workshop and SG activities to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, both in the Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education and in degrees of other disciplines. Moreover, we have encouraged active learning of the SDGs through collaborative workshops using the design thinking method and an SG called “The Island”, which, based on certain economic, social and environmental information, puts students in a position to govern resources to meet the needs of its population.

Teaching Ethics and Sustainability to Informatics Engineering Students, An Almost 30 Years’ Experience

A significant number of universities where engineering is taught, acknowledge the importance of the social and environmental impact of the scientific and technological practice, as well as the ethical problems it presents, and the need to provide their students with courses covering this as a subject. This paper presents 29 years of teaching courses with the subject of social, environmental, and ethical issues to students of Informatics Engineering. The table contents and its evolution over the years will be analyzed, plus the different teaching strategies applied, with emphasis on the collaborative learning methodologies to facilitate critical thinking and debate. During the experience, the course incorporated the subject of History of Informatics which proved to fit in the course. While the subject of Ethics and Sustainability is increasingly being regarded as an important matter to learn by future ICT engineers, the courses covering it remain as optional in the curriculums. This should change.

Improving student-driven feedback and engagement in the classroom: evaluating the effectiveness of the speed dating model

Information systems (IS) pedagogy research supports the use of collaborative learning strategies that are based on the belief that learning increases when students work together to solve problems and develop cooperative learning skills. In this paper, we present an empirical comparison of two classroom design approaches - a 'speed dating' method and a traditional presentation format. We collected and analysed data from 174 student questionnaire-based surveys and in-class researcher observations of student engagement in an undergraduate senior capstone course entitled, 'Innovation in Information Systems'. Our results show increases in student engagement (reported and observed) and improvements in student-driven feedback (given and received) during the speed dating sessions as compared to the presentation sessions. We believe these findings demonstrate that the speed dating method is an effective alternative to a presentation format and is a useful complement to other collaborative learning methodologies.