Teaching Using Collaborative Research Projects: Experiences with Adult Learners in Distance Education

Enrique Rosales-Asensio, Carlos Sierra, Clara Pérez-Molina, Jesús Romero-Mayoral and Antonio Colmenar-Santos
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Enrique Rosales-Asensio: Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus de Tafira s/n, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Carlos Sierra: Department of Mining, Topography and Structure Technology, University of León, Campus de Vegazana, 24006 León, Spain
Clara Pérez-Molina: Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Control, Telematics and Chemistry Applied to Engineering, UNED, Juan del Rosal, 12, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Jesús Romero-Mayoral: Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus de Tafira s/n, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Antonio Colmenar-Santos: Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Control, Telematics and Chemistry Applied to Engineering, UNED, Juan del Rosal, 12, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 18, 1-12

Abstract: This research studies the acquisition and improvement of specific cognitive, functional, and social competencies of the students enrolled in a university module in which we applied Collaborative Research Project (CRP) strategy. The module was Research Methodology for a master’s degree in research in electrical engineering, electronics and industrial control given at the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Spain. This practice was applied to a research project in which the private sector was interested in. We have been aiming at increasing academia–industry interaction while promoting active learning; both are principles advocated by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Having applied this strategy, the module learning outcomes were evaluated following the guideline standards set by the National Agency for Quality Assessment of Universities (ANECA) of the Spanish Government. The results from this evaluation indicated that CRP, even when carried out by using distance learning, has encouraged the students’ interest in both research and the module. It has also fostered collaboration between students and lecturers while increasing their degree of satisfaction. We highlight the difficulties in merging all the outcomes from the students’ research as the main drawback.

Keywords: online and blended learning and teaching; online open learning environments; open education technologies; learning/teaching methodologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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