Intra and Intergroup Cooperative Learning in Industrial Informatics Area

Abstract

This paper describes an educational experiment carried out by an Educational Innovation Project (EIP), developed in the field of Industrial Informatics during the biennium 2011/2013 at the Faculty of Engineering of Vitoria-Gasteiz (University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Spain). In this paper the general situation regarding the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) at the start of that biennium, as well as the situation and specific problems that occurred in the field of Industrial Informatics at the Faculty are described. It was proposed to rectify the situation by the explicit formulation of ambitious objectives and the use of active learning methods, specifically by intragroup (between members of the same group) and intergroup (between members of different groups) cooperative learning. The paper includes the designing details of the proposed innovation carried out, the designed assessment, and the steps taken for the implementation in each one of the two years of the project. The results have been successful in the academic field since the specific and generic competences have been achieved and even from the point of view of the evaluation of teachers by students.