El objetivo del estudio es analizar comparativamente la percepción del alumnado sobre la influencia diferencial que cinco métodos de enseñanza aprendizaje activos (aprendizaje basado en problemas; estudio de casos; estudio compartido; estudio dirigido y método de expertos) tienen en el desarrollo de competencias instrumentales; sistémicas y personales. Participaron 280 estudiantes de Educación de la Universidad de León; quienes recibieron sus temarios siguiendo las metodologías activas analizadas. Tras la aplicación de cada metodología se administró el Cuestionario de evaluación de competencias generales que evalúa el grado en que el alumnado cree haber desarrollado las competencias. Los resultados señalan que el aprendizaje basado en problemas favorece un mayor desarrollo de competencias que el resto de metodologías. El estudio compartido es el método con menor capacidad para estimular el desarrollo de competencias metodológicas; lingüísticas; de trabajo en equipo; compromiso ético y liderazgo. Se analizan y discuten los resultados; sus implicaciones y limitaciones.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to improve student skills in writing good-quality synthesis texts through a strategic, self-regulated instruction program aimed at ensuring that students properly activated reading and writing strategies required by the synthesis task.Methods: The sample consisted of 84 university students who were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions. The experimental group received an instructional program based on the development and self-regulated implementation of reading and writing strategies for producing synthesis texts. The control group received a program involving metacognitive knowledge of various academic text types. Both programs involved eight 60-min sessions, taught by teachers in a compulsory degree subject. For the evaluations, students produced synthesis texts from different source texts. The syntheses were graded considering text product measures: information selection, idea connection, text organization, and holistic quality; and measures of reading (underlining and note-taking) and writing (planning and review) strategies.Results: The results show that the experimental group exhibited greater improvements in synthesis quality and greater improvements in activation of information organization processes, note-taking while reading, and text planning.Discussion: In conclusion, university students can, following implementation of a strategic instructional procedure in the context of a study plan, adapt and re-work their own reading and writing strategies and apply them in a self-regulated manner to synthesis tasks, improving text quality and some of the cognitive processes involved.

Esta investigación se centra en conocer el desarrollo de la conciencia metacognitiva y el perfil escritor de los universitarios en relación con las tareas de síntesis, altamente demandadas en la Educación Superior, pero ineficazmente abordadas por muchos estudiantes. La muestra ha estado formada por 82 universitarios, divididos en dos condiciones en las que recibieron instrucción en tareas de síntesis: enseñanza explícita y modelado con pensamiento en voz alta; respondieron a los cuestionarios i) Conocimiento metacognitivo sobre tareas de síntesis y ii) Estilos escritores. Los resultados permiten concluir que el autoconocimiento de los estudiantes acerca de las síntesis no es adecuado, aunque es mejorable con modelado o enseñanza explícita, y que los estudiantes con un perfil escritor, predominantemente revisor o planificador, son los que muestran mejor desarrollo metacognitivo.

The home context can complement formal schooling in writing. However, the family’s potential for promoting how children learn to write is still relatively underexplored, particularly in primary education. The present study used a qualitative approach based on parent focus groups to analyse the practices and support given at home to Spanish primary school students. It also examined the challenges families face and the strategies they suggested for improving their involvement in writing. Focus groups were interviewed involving 32 parents of children in the first (6–8 years old), second (8–10), and third (10–12) cycles of primary education. The results indicate that informal writing practices are carried out at home, related to communication, leisure, and reflection, along with formal writing practices based on supporting schoolwork and stimulating specific writing skills. The formal practices are based on school requirements and children’s needs, while the informal practices are a constant presence throughout primary schooling. The study also identified parental writing support that was instructional (modelling, guiding, explaining, correction), motivational (reinforcement, play, emphasising writing’s importance), and organisational (resources and organisation), which varied as children developed. The families identified challenges to enriching the writing environment at home linked to factors related to the children (lack of motivation, frustration with mistakes, and negative views of writing), to their own availability or lack of knowledge, and to the influence of school and the digital context. Their main suggestions for improvements included improved coordination between school and family and promoting writing experiences based on enjoyment and functionality. Despite the difficulties, the families offered varied writing practices and support that can complement how writing is taught at school.