Implementation of Collaborative Learning during the Applied Pharmaceutical Calculations Laboratory at the School of Pharmacy from the Universidad de Costa Rica

Authors

  • Juan José Mora Román Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.18-2.8

Keywords:

Education process, collaborative learning, group, intentional design, collaboration, significant learning.

Abstract

The School of Pharmacy is currently facing a problem due to little or no communication among students of the same class or same academic level. Collaborative learning is a methodological strategy that goes beyond just working in groups. Small groups are formed and, after receiving instructions from the professor, group members exchange knowledge and work on an assignment until every person in the group has understood and completed the task, thus learning through collaboration. The main elements of this learning technique include: intentional design through the use of activities prepared by the teacher, collaboration through the active commitment of all the members of the work team, and significant learning through the increase of individual and collective in-depth knowledge on a given topic. Due to the foregoing, this learning experience was conducted during three sessions of the Applied Pharmaceutical Calculations Laboratory (FA-2023) during the second semester of 2012.  During these sessions, students were paired and assigned specific tasks that had to be completed before, during and after each lab session. In order to determine the result of the strategy used, the grades obtained by all the groups (24 students) in quizzes and reports during those sessions were compared against the grades obtained in both items during the sessions where no collaborative learning approach was used. In addition, a survey in the form of a questionnaire was used to know the students’ opinion regarding this methodological strategy. Data was examined using a sociodemographic analysis for age and gender, and a descriptive analysis with frequency distribution for the rest of the items in the questionnaire. Results obtained show an enriching experience from the perspective of both the professor and the students. Consequently, the implementation of this strategy is necessary and advisable for the education processes of all learning levels in Costa Rica.

Author Biography

Juan José Mora Román, Universidad de Costa Rica

Licenciado en Farmacia de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Labora desde hace tres años como docente en el Departamento de Farmacia Industrial en la Facultad de Farmacia de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

References

Barkley, E. F., Cross, K. P. y Major, C. H. (2007). Técnicas de aprendizaje colaborativo. Madrid: Morata.

Cenich, G. y Santos G. (2005). Propuesta de aprendizaje basado en proyectos y trabajo colaborativo: Experiencia de un curso en línea. REDIE. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 7(2), 1-18 Recuperado de http://redie.uabc.mx/index.php/redie/article/view/133/228

Dirección de Investigación y Desarrollo Educativo. Vicerrectoría Académica. (2000). Las estrategias didácticas en el modelo del Tecnológico de Monterrey. Monterrey: Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

Dirección de Investigación y Desarrollo Educativo. Vicerrectoría Académica (s. f.). Las estrategias y técnicas didácticas en el rediseño. Monterrey: Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

Gómez, P. y Vázquez, F. (2005). Una institución virtual para el aprendizaje colaborativo. Apertura, 5(1), 103-110. Recuperado de http://www.udgvirtual.udg.mx/apertura/index.php/apertura4/issue/view/50

González, G. y Díaz, L. (2005). Aprendizaje colaborativo: Una experiencia desde las aulas universitarias. Educación y Educadores, 8, 21-44. Recuperado de http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=83400804

Maldonado-Granado, L. F., Lizcano-Dallos, A. R., Pineda-Ballesteros, E. y Uribe-Otárola, V. A., Sequeda-Tarazona, J. B. (2008). Comunidades de aprendizaje mediadas por redes informáticas. Educación y Educadores, 11(1), 199-224. Recuperado de http://educacionyeducadores.unisabana.edu.co/index.php/eye/article/view/725/808

Published

2014-04-09

How to Cite

Implementation of Collaborative Learning during the Applied Pharmaceutical Calculations Laboratory at the School of Pharmacy from the Universidad de Costa Rica (J. J. Mora Román , Trans.). (2014). Revista Electrónica Educare, 18(2), 159-175. https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.18-2.8

Issue

Section

Journal Articles (Peer Reviewed Section)

How to Cite

Implementation of Collaborative Learning during the Applied Pharmaceutical Calculations Laboratory at the School of Pharmacy from the Universidad de Costa Rica (J. J. Mora Román , Trans.). (2014). Revista Electrónica Educare, 18(2), 159-175. https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.18-2.8

Comentarios (ver términos de uso)