Abstract:

In compliance with the approaches put forth in the process of European convergence, the move from a teaching-centred model to a learning- centred one has called for a major attitude change for all the agents involved in the education system. The aim is to discontinue the old educational system based on teaching and implement one centred on learning.

One of the keys to make this process successful is the use of the so called active methodologies in which it is the student who faces up to the challenge of learning and takes on an active role in knowledge acquisition.

Cooperative learning is a methodology that combines all the features of a student-centred teaching approach while also guaranteeing student participation at the cognitive, physical, emotional and psychological levels to build their own knowledge.

In the last three decades, it has perhaps been one of the most widely used and studied procedures, mainly because the advantages and effectiveness it provides for competitive and individual task work.

As educators and researchers, we often assume that if students are working together, they are cooperating. However, the conditions required for effective cooperative learning are not actually being met and therefore, the benefits pointed out by research on this methodology are not being achieved.

This paper examines the results of a study in which students from the University of Deusto (Spain) and the Catholic University of Temuco (Chile) took part.

We intend to see how when teachers fulfill the basic conditions that require cooperative learning, increases levels of student satisfaction and promotes the development of certain skills, competencies and attitudes, issues directly related to personal development and academic students

Keywords:

Active Methodologies, Cooperative learning, Higher Education, Student satisfaction, Competence Development.