COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE STUDENT MOTIVATION

In the last years, cooperative learning have become one of the best researched of all new teaching strategies. Cooperative and collaborative learning differ from traditional teaching approaches because students work together rather than compete with each other individually. The results show that students who have opportunities to work collaboratively, learn faster and more efficiently, have greater retention, and feel more positive about the learning experience. In order to make cooperative learning effective, the teacher needs to keep several things in mind. Teachers need to set clear expectations for the cooperative learning task and students should understand that the success of the group depends on the successful work of every individual. In the course of Bioprocess Engineering several examples of the cooperative learning activities have been developed. The main techniques used in our experience were puzzle and technical research group. We can see how students agree with the virtues of cooperative learning to achieve the development of socio-professional skills in the subject propose, recognizing that achieving them is not as effectively as traditional methodology. The results support the contention that well designed cooperative learning activities can have significant positive effects on learning. About 96% of students expressed agree that through cooperative learning achieved greater development of communication skills: understand, explain, and answer questions, discuss the terminology of the subject, etc.