Abstract:

It is important to differentiate between two concepts which are usually used without distinction: group and team. The first one makes reference to a set of people that are interested in some activity. On the other hand, the term “team” adds that this set of people is organized efficiently. Therefore, when it comes to education issues where the goal is to get the most and enhance the learning of our students, we have to implement teamwork techniques that involve certain levels of organization and temporary management that allow us to make the most of the time in the classroom.

One of the aims of university training with the Bolonia plan is to train professionals with resolute capacity and acquisition of key competences. The problem solving is the main motivation for using teamwork techniques. However, in order to successfully employ these techniques it is necessary that all the members of the team have training with them. The participation of the students through teamwork techniques improves the work environment within the classroom, increasing the confidence levels, sharing knowledge and generating new ones, as well, facilitating learning breaking with the traditional fears to ask questions within the classroom.

For this reason, such techniques have been introduced for university and elementary students for some years. It is about encouraging participation within the classroom, giving a greater role to the students, generating an internal structure within the classroom that in an organized way allows moving forward with firmness. Although, should be taken into account that an initial time must to be spent on the preparation and management of the classroom before the results start to be visible in a tangible way.

In this work, a wide variety of teamwork techniques are collected, detailed in schematic way and validated through the university teaching experience at the Universidad Politécnica of Madrid. It is also indicated the way to carry them out within the classroom through practical examples. With these techniques, it is intended to provide university professors new resources and clarification of the other ones resources already known to university professors to facilitate the work within the classroom, including new active methodologies that are in line with the objectives of the Bolonia Plan for university education. In addition, different ways of evaluating their effectiveness within the classroom and understanding their scope are also presented, with the idea of being able to improve the quality of teaching based on the experience within the classroom. The work has been carried out jointly by professors from different areas of knowledge and university centers in the country. This has made it possible to classify the different techniques presented according to their effectiveness in the different subjects and areas used.

Keywords:

Quality, innovation, teamwork, university learning.