Active methodologies in the university and their relationship with teaching approaches

Abstract

The university's entry into the European Higher Education Area involved many reforms, including methodological ones, in search of greater participation and responsibility of students in the teaching-learning process. The main purpose of this research were to recognise the active teaching methods best known and used by university professors, and the influence of teaching approaches of teachers in these methods. Through an ex post facto design were used two questionnaires, one of self-design and the ATI questionnaire (2004) too, in a sample of 501 teachers from the three universities in the Region of Murcia. The results showed that teachers who know methods that are more active are the ones who use such methods the most. Although the standard and best-known method is still the master lesson, there are other assets such as cooperative learning, case studies and problem solving, with other exercises also obtaining quite high means. In addition, teachers with the highest scores in the student-centered approach are the ones who know the aforementioned active methods, and likewise, they used more cooperative learning, project-based learning, case studies, ABP and learning contract with the master lesson to a lesser extent. In this way, it is clear that the promoted changes are being carried out and that teacher training has a direct influence on the improvement of educational practices.