Fostering the cooperative learning of mathematics in engineering schools

Juan Miguel Morales (), Benjamín Olea (), Miguel Atencia () and Nicolás Madrid ()
Additional contact information
Juan Miguel Morales: University of Malaga
Benjamín Olea: Universidad de Málaga
Miguel Atencia: Universidad de Málaga
Nicolás Madrid: Universidad de Málaga

No 8410856, Proceedings of Teaching and Education Conferences from International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences

Abstract: In this article, we report on the experience gained and the results obtained from an educational innovation project that has sought to introduce cooperative learning into the mathematics subjects of the first year of the Engineering degrees at the University of Malaga. In particular, we focus on the teamwork-based learning method that we have called the "Teacher-Apprentice" dynamics: Groups of 3-5 members are formed in which one of the members takes on the role of the Teacher, while the rest are the Apprentices. We introduce a system of incentives such that the group that progresses adequately in the subject has the right to group bonuses, which count towards the final grade awarded to each of the group members and which are different for the Teacher and for the Apprentices to allow for some level of competitiveness within the group. The selection of the Teacher is reviewed after each scheduled assessment test, where the student in the group who has obtained the highest score from among the group members will become the (possibly new) Teacher. The results collected to date reveal that group dynamics increase the motivation with which students face math learning, while helping them to correct conceptual errors through discussion with their peers.

Keywords: Cooperative learning; Teaching methods; University Teaching; Mathematics; Engineering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 13 pages
Date: 2019-06
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in Proceedings of the Proceedings of the 7th Teaching & Education Conference, London, Jun 2019, pages 131-143

Downloads: (external link)
https://iises.net/proceedings/7th-teaching-educati ... 84&iid=011&rid=10856 First version, 2019

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sek:itepro:8410856

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Proceedings of Teaching and Education Conferences from International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Klara Cermakova ().