EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A PILOT SEMINAR ON COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN AN ENGINEERING COURSE

Despite the introduction of new technologies in university education, teaching practice is usually based on the stereotype of the classroom and the professor who is teaching the students; as a result, e-learning tools have not been fully integrated. This paper outlines an effort which has started at experimental level by an engineering department, with the aim to optimally use the digital material of an e-learning platform of student self-assessment. In this context, we perform various learning activities, we integrate the material into the activities during class and we use cooperative learning techniques aiming to make an educational intervention to the learning and social outcomes of education. For this reason we set up an 'experiment', which has given the first results, with the participation of undergraduate students who attended a pilot seminar. Diversification from traditional teaching practices/methods, and the variety of activities in the class seemed to enhance the performance of students who attended the seminar compared to those who did not participate. In addition, participants seem to prefer, with regard to the development of their communication and teamworking skills, the technique of 10-minute group exercises in the class without the use of computer yet based on the self-assessment material.