Abstract:

Meaningful learning is proven to occur when it is done in a practical, relevant and participated way. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop innovative pedagogical methods which promote this type of learning process. A growing body of research has been presenting an increased awareness of the critical role of active learning methodologies in fostering students’ involvement in their own learning, by promoting critical thinking, creativity, team-work, i.e., by creating an environment full of meaningful learning activities. These methodologies shift the learning responsibility to the student (student-centred learning) and emphasis the teacher’s role as a facilitator in moderating the teaching and learning process.

In this work, we propose a new teaching framework and we use learning analytics tools in order to measure the impact of new teaching methodologies applied in Math courses in Bachelor Engineering degrees. The proposed teaching framework consists of the application of active learning techniques, such as Jigsaw and eduScrum, in the curricular unit of Linear Algebra and Analytical Geometry, in the first semester of the academic year of 2017/2018.

Keywords:

Active learning, higher education, learning analytics.