Evaluating Active Learning Methodologies In A Computer Engineering Program

We are heading for a new era in education, with the association between fully disseminated teaching methodologies and the so-called active learning. Moreover, there is a growing interest in the changing profile of higher education students. The use of teaching methodologies in which the student takes on a more active role in the learning process may lead to an increased academic performance. However, are those methods efficient in more theoretical courses in which high levels of abstraction are required? In this study, we investigate the effect of active learning methodologies (Just-in-Time Teaching, Peer Instruction, and Problem-Based Learning) in courses of the Computer Engineering Program. We evaluate the academic performance, the students' evasion and the pass/fail mean of 48 students distributed into Control Group and Experimental Group. Preliminary results showed that 91% of students in the Experimental Group rated the methodologies positively. They had a better performance when compared both to themselves in previous bimesters (up to 3 points) and to the Control Group (mean performance increased by 0.7 points).