Abstract:

The most recent definition of “student-centered” learning (SCL) is relatively new; however, it has been a topic of discussion within many higher education institutions during the past few decades. By definition, the application of a SCL approach implies “active learning”, which is the fundamental basis for students’ lifelong learning. There are many active teaching strategies and learning activities that can be effectively used in order for students to take a greater responsibility for their own work. These strategies and activities in which group work is usually encouraged have a positive effect on students’ engagement in learning, as they have to collaborate and communicate with each other to achieve a common objective. Nevertheless, they also have several drawbacks, which are usually ignored by the teaching team.

In this study, a SWOT analysis was carried out in order to auto-evaluate the design and the implementation of a Collaborative Project-Based Learning (CPBL) methodology; that is, to identify its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The proposed methodology has been used for more than 5 consecutive academic years in three subjects on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that are taught at the Alava Campus of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in three bachelor degrees, and in both official languages (Spanish and Basque).

It was the Strengths detected in the SWOT analysis which encouraged the teaching team to continue using the proposed methodology. Nevertheless, several weaknesses and threats that need to be overcome were also identified. The student evaluation process has been identified as the Weakest point of the proposed methodology. The methodology itself promotes teamwork rather than independent work, and, as a result, the grades of all team members are usually homogenized. Accordingly, it is difficult to identify and objectively evaluate both “brilliant” and “mediocre” students. The Threats are mainly related to students’ lack of knowledge in scientific fields other than their own area of expertise. Regarding Opportunities, the three selected subjects being taught in three different degree courses provides an exceptional framework to create a learning environment that will facilitate interaction between the students of three different areas of expertise, boosting their capacity to work in multidisciplinary teams.

The conclusions drawn from the SWOT analysis have led to the proposal of several activities which will have a direct impact on the continuous improvement of the methodology and, as a result, on students’ learning and will foster a more objective and personalized evaluation. These improvements have already been implemented in the 2017/2018 academic year.

Keywords:

SWOT analysis, Collaborative project-based learning (CPBL), continuous improvement, active teaching strategies, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).