Bibliometric Approach to Cooperative Learning Trends in Experimental Engineering Teaching

Abstract

Cooperative learning constitutes an active pedagogical methodology that encourages interaction and collaborative work among students to achieve common academic goals. From a constructivist perspective, it has proven to be especially effective in addressing complex problems in different fields of science and education. In the current context, marked by the need to guarantee quality education, it is essential to identify current trends in this methodology in specific areas, such as experimental teaching in engineering, and to establish the pertinent adaptations to both the discipline and the methodology. In this sense, the present study poses the following research question: What are the current trends in cooperative learning applied to experimental teaching in engineering? To answer this question, bibliometrics was used as an analysis tool, processing a total of 483 articles obtained from the two main scientific databases: Scopus and Web of Science. Science , prioritizing those publications with the greatest impact. The analysis identified two main thematic clusters. The first brings together studies that demonstrate a greater use of cooperative learning in primary education, with an emphasis on developing basic competencies and initial experimental skills. The second cluster focuses on research on collaborative and cooperative learning applied to secondary and university education, where there is growing interest in its implementation in experimental engineering environments. These findings offer an updated overview of the most relevant lines of research, as well as opportunities to enhance this methodology in the field of engineering.