Higher Education Instituions (HEIs) should be the driving force behind the training of college students in terms of both hard and soft skills (for example, innovation and teamwork competencies), and they should also do so without neglecting their health and well-being, perhaps more than ever in these complex times of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. Game-based learning (GBL) could be a powerful and useful tool in this regard. There is, however, some controversy surrounding the use of games for learning purposes in higher education institutions, and most of the research done about this issue corresponds to GBL through digital games. Under this background, the main objective of this study was to test the effect of GBL on the intrinsic motivation (IM), teamwork engagement (TWE), team building (TB), teamwork competence (TWC), and innovation behaviors (IWB) of 142 college students of Health Sciences and Social Work. After rehearsing in small groups, the game was tested (T2). Our results obtained through the differential analyses confirmed that undergraduates were more intrinsically motivated, experienced more TWE, TB, and TWC, and developed more IWB than before playing the game (T1). Therefore, the development of core personal skills might be promoted effectively by games in an efficient, engaging, and motivating way.

The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived self-efficacy of university students after experiencing several Flipped Classroom sessions at different time points: prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (onsite instruction) and after confinement at home (online instruction). The study's methodology followed a quantitative approach in which a total of 376 university students who had experienced the Flipped Learning sessions completed a general self-efficacy questionnaire. The results showed that the perceived self-efficacy is influenced by the academic year in which the students are enrolled, the modality in which the Flipped Classroom experience has been implemented (online or onsite) and the predisposition to innovation. In terms of practical implications, the Flipped Classroom applied in online formats could be a highly useful resource for designing active learning environments in which university students could improve their sense of self-efficacy. Consequently, their expectations and academic performance could also be improved.

The aim of this research is to examine the role of information and communication technologies in the relationship between group effectiveness and group potency changes. A laboratory experiment compared 44 groups of four members, working in two communication media—face-to-face condition and computer-mediated communication (CMC). Groups developed a project during 4 weekly meetings during a 1-month period. No significant difference in group potency between communication media was found initially. However, different patterns of group potency development over time were identified. Group potency increased in the face-to-face condition, whereas it remained stable in the CMC condition. Results showed that group effectiveness has a positive effect on group potency. CMC groups that were higher in effectiveness presented higher levels of group potency than those lower in effectiveness, whereas group potency perceived by face-to-face groups remained stable over different levels of group effectiveness.

Group potency is one of the major factors influencing work group success. However, little is known about the effects of potency on group maintenance outcomes, especially in virtual teams. The present study examines the moderating role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the relationships between potency and group maintenance outcomes in a longitudinal study. The study involved 44 groups of four members each, working in two communication media: face-to-face (F-t-F) and computer-mediated communication (CMC). The groups developed a project during four weekly sessions over a 1-month period. The results showed that ICTs moderated the relationship between potency and maintenance outcomes (process satisfaction and identification). The positive relationship between potency and maintenance outcomes was stronger in CMC groups than in F-t-F groups. The study has provided useful information that contributes to understanding in which contexts group potency produces the best results. Specifically, ICT appears to be a key moderating variable in the relationships between group potency and group maintenance outcomes.

The aim of the present study is to analyze the relation between the severity of symptoms in people with ASD on their parents’ overload, moderated by parental well-being and the ASD pragmatic level. A sample consisted of 28 fathers and mothers whose children had ASD. The obtained results showed that the higher the ASD severity, the better the parental overload was perceived if parents had low well-being levels. However, this relation did not occur if the parental well-being level was high. Moreover, the relation between severity and parental overload moderated by parental well-being occurred regardless of the pragmatic language level. Therefore, the main results of this study are that the responsibility for parental overload depends more on parental well-being than on the symptom severity of the person with ASD. The relevance of carrying out interventions with not only people with ASD, but also with their parents or caregivers for their well-being is highlighted.