Abstract:

Cooperative work is a tool that presents a permanently upward future that we should not miss. This work presents the use of the formal cooperative learning technique in the subject of Polymeric Materials Engineering, located in the fourth and last year of the Mechanical Engineering degree taught at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). These types of techniques are more complex methods than informal ones, since the duration can extend to several long sessions and require a much more demanding level of effort. Furthermore, these techniques involve a high level of more complex cooperative skills, derived both from the tasks themselves and from the high degree of autonomy and self-regulation that they entail. The general objective of the subject is to know the classification and use of polymeric materials, as well as their identification through different characterization techniques. A little more specific objectives include knowing and learning how to interpret the short and long-term mechanical behavior of polymeric materials, as well as the optimization of plastic formulations on a laboratory and industrial scale. With this, this work aims to use the technique of formal cooperative learning in theoretical classes and laboratory practices, in order to improve the skills and abilities of students when planning a specific or general task related to polymeric materials thanks to decision making on your part. In addition to improving their skills, this involves preparing students for situations that they may encounter in both their work and professional lives. This technique will be progressively incorporated throughout the course by the teacher so that there is an adaptation and the students feel safe to carry out the tasks they must develop. Once we reach this point, small groups are made in which each student performs a specific function that requires responsibility at both an individual and group level.

Keywords:

Formal cooperative learning, Polymeric materials engineering, Teamwork, Laboratory practices.