Abstract:

The paper presents a learning experience with post-graduate students of the Master in International Studies in Peace, Conflict and Development at the University Jaume I (Castellón, Spain). It will focus on the course “Intercultural Seminars”, a weekly class that students attend during the first three out of four terms of the program and that serves as an accompanying learning environment.

This course was designed to promote students interaction and experiential learning beyond the regular classes. For that purpose, the subject has a seminar format that combines the participation of guest speakers and students presentations on general topics related to peace, conflict and development.

The paper will describe the experience of introducing new active methodologies to enhance learning practices of social change for students. In order to present the experience, the paper will be organized in the following sections. First, we will introduce the context of the course within its post-graduate program and the peculiarities of the international and interdisciplinary students’ profile. Second, we will review the main conceptual and pedagogical approaches that sustain the new proposal of a structured active learning, particularly focused on group work, critical thinking and reflexivity. Third, we will describe the structure, activities, and main aspects of the active learning introduced in this course and its relevance for students’ intercultural and experiential learning. Fourth, we will discuss the experience assessing both positive outcomes and challenges encountered, also taking into account students’ feedback and evolution over the three terms. Finally, we will present the conclusion on this experience offering some guidelines that may be useful to other programs interested in carrying out similar practices in their educational settings.

Keywords:

Higher Education, Post-graduate, Social Change, Interculturality, Active learning, Seminars, Group work, Critical thinking, Reflexivity.