COOPERATIVE LEARNING AS AN EXPERIENCE OF EDUCATIONAL CHANGE

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) favours methodological changes in higher education focusing on students active learning. But these changes will not be effective unless we ensure the continuity of these approaches since the stages of Early years, Primary and Secondary Education, culminating in the University. We describe an educational experience that shows this is possible. Students of the Master of Secondary Education were trained in cooperative learning techniques. The aim was that they could learn the cooperative techniques and apply them in the highschool, led by the Professor of Social Science Education. The study involved 19 students of the Master, 89 students of 1st Grade in Secondary Education (ESO), and a professor of social science subjects. The cooperative learning structure applyed was the quiz-quiz-trade of Kagan. The results show the degree of satisfaction that students of the Master have in relation to the theoretical and practical training received on cooperative learning strategies. The results also show the achievement in the performance of students of 1 º ESO in the subject of Social Sciences and the development of their emotional intelligence and teamwork skills. The evidence shows that the experience has been very positive for the Highshool and the University, it has helped the improvement of the educational practice in both institutions and the experience relates to the fundamental features of both institutions pedagogical models based on: differentiated education, internationalism and bilingualism, skills training and XXI century skills and learning community.