One of the most important objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is quality education, which is related to reducing school dropouts. To this end, the use of active learning methodologies improves the motivation, facilitating the learning process and, hence, reducing the dropouts. The present study proposes a methodological approach based on collaborative learning, titled: Presentation–Questions–Answers (PQA). The aim of the research is to determine whether the use of a collaborative learning methodology affects the motivation and learning of students studying theoretical content. An analytical experimental linear study was developed, whereby students were distributed across two groups, (i) a control group, which employed a lecture-based traditional approach, and (ii) an experimental group, which employed a collaborative methodology. Pre-and post-tests were carried out to assess the knowledge and motivation of students using the Situational Motivation Scale (validated scale) and a specific knowledge scale. Improvement was found in the effectiveness of the experimental group regarding the control group, with findings showing that the group utilizing the collaborative methodology acquired 64% more knowledge than the control group during the same period. However, no significant changes were found in either the intrinsic or the extrinsic motivation of the students in either group. The results prove that the use of collaborative learning maintains students’ motivation and is more effective than lecture-based methods in learning theoretical content.

The integration of technology in higher education has transformed teaching, turning students into active participants in their learning. Faced with the limitations of conventional methods, the integration of technological and creative methods adapted to current demands is being sought.

Contribution: Prior studies on pedagogical methodologies to acquire soft skills have shown that developing collaborative tasks produces positive impact in students’ abilities. In this article, a pedagogical approach based on interdisciplinary practice and realistic problems is proposed to improve students’ teamwork skills. Background: Traditionally, soft skill acquisition has received scarce attention in high education curricula. Consequently, students finish their studies without having developed important competencies, such as communication, conflict resolution and teamwork skills. Intended Outcomes: Students who follow a realistic interdisciplinary approach improve both their soft and hard skills compared to students who follow a traditional collaborative pedagogical methodology. Through the approach proposed, students progress in completing tasks, participating in the team, collaborating in the organization, accepting agreements and taking into account the others’ points of view. Application Design: The experience involved students from two different disciplines, prospective computer science engineers and preservice teachers. They worked together to design an educational application that required prospective engineers to apply Human–Computer Interaction fundamentals. A quasi-experimental study was performed using either knowledge tests or self-assessment pre-post-tests, both subsequently analyzed using quantitative methods. Findings: 1) the prospective CS engineers who followed the interdisciplinary realistic practice approach achieved better learning outcomes than those who did not; 2) the educational context affects teamwork skill development; and 3) students improved their ability to work and participate in the team after the experience.

Algorithm animations are a resource that assists in learning algorithms by visually displaying the behavior of an algorithm at a higher level of abstraction than source code. On the other hand, augmented reality is a technology that allows extending visible reality in a mobile device, which can result in greater emotional well-being for the student. However, it is not clear how to integrate algorithm animations with augmented reality. The article makes two contributions to this concern. On the one hand, we describe an architecture that allows generating interactive algorithm animations, integrating them appropriately in the context of immersive augmented reality. This way the user can watch the source code of the algorithm, augmented with textual explanations, visualizations and animations of its behavior. We illustrate the use of the architecture by instantiating it to the well-known Dijkstra’s algorithm, resulting in an augmented reality tool that generates text, 2D and 3D visualizations. On the other hand, the influence of the tool on the user’s emotions has been studied by conducting an experience with face-to-face and online students. The results show that, with the joint use of augmented reality and visualizations, the students: experienced significantly more positive than negative emotions, experienced more agitation and stimulation than inactivity or calm, enjoyed as much as they expected, and their feeling of boredom decreased during the experience. However, students felt anxiety from the beginning and it increased with the use of augmented reality. The study also found that the face-to-face or online learning model influences emotions and learning outcomes with augmented reality.