Learning-centered methodology. Its impact on learning strategies and academic performance of university students

The aim of this work was to assess the impact of innovative teaching methodology, learning centered, on learning strategies and academic achievement of three groups of students in Chemistry. They were 1st year Engineering students at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. A pre-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures, taken by the questionnaire CEVEAPEU, was used. The sample consisted of 74 students in three groups, whose teachers agreed on the methodology they used. The teaching methods included expository methodology, questions, problem solving, development of a monograph, laboratory practices, team work, etc. They used a system of assessment that returned formative feedback to students. Significant improvements in learning strategies in the posttest were found, both overall test scores and scores of the scales and subscales (metacognitive strategies, search and selection information strategies and processing and use of information strategies and better grades in that subject than in the others of the course. The positive results encourage researchers to continue in this direction.

Key Words: Higher education, teaching methods, learner-centered methodology, learning to learn, university students.

Keywords:
• learning to learn
• teaching methods