Abstract:

From the educational research perspective it is crucial to put into practice the most efficient resources and techniques possible to enhance students’ learning process. This study goes further, and also aims to identify the determinants of students’ performance when active learning is implemented. Team work and cooperative learning are the methods used to foster a deep-seated active spirit among learners. We include students’ qualitative characteristics, such as age, gender, nationality, among others, in an environment of changes, globalization and diversity, such as Higher Educational Institutions are facing. We collect data using questionnaires completed by students from different disciplines in a Business Studies context, once they have applied active learning strategies during the course, in an attempt to identify any patterns of efficiency in the educational outcomes. Our results shed light on the correlation between the specific features of a group of active learners and their academic achievement.

Keywords:

Cooperative learning, academic performance, diversity issues, globalization.