COOPERATIVE LEARNING: A CHALLENGE FOR THE ACQUISITION OF COMPETENCES IN TRANSLATION STUDIES WITHIN THE EHEA FRAMEWORK

Nowadays, the higher education institutions in Europe are experiencing the complex process of redesigning and redefining their curricula according to new educational criteria and patterns. The new methodological approach promoted by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) replaces teacher-centred learning processes by learning models centred on students, in which users are the producers of knowledge. In a learning-based model, students who are leaving university need to have acquired skills and competences in cooperative and creative project-based work and to have developed critical and reflective practices. Within this framework, cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy not only to promote student learning and academic achievement, but also to develop students' social skills.
This paper presents a research study carried out at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Valladolid (Spain), in which we have analysed the advantages and drawbacks of using cooperative learning workgroups to develop generic and specific competences in Translation students. This research study, which is based on an action research methodology, is part of a Teaching Innovation Project called “New Web 2.0.-based methodological tools for developing competences during translators’ training: EHEA adaptation process”.