Using Multiple Active Teaching-Learning Approaches in Software Project Management: A longitudinal analysis of students’ motivation and learning

This article describes the instructional design and evaluation of a course about project management in a software engineering post-graduation program using different teaching approaches and with a focus on active learning. We use four different approaches: digital educational game, non-digital educational game, hands-on activity, and experiential activity. Each one of the activities is evaluated for the aspects of motivation, user experience, and learning, following the MEEGA evaluation model and Cidral’s experiential activity model. To verify the perceptions of students over time, we also assess graduated students that have concluded this course after two to four years, considering the aspects of motivation and learning. Results indicate a high level of approval for dynamic activities, regarding both motivation and learning. Activities with greater impact on motivation and learning are dynamics and educational games, group practical activities, and group theoretical activities. Among the factors that most influence students’ motivation, we highlight: active learning, teacher knowledge, the taste of the area, and teaching methods. We realized that there was no significant variation in the perception of the activities by students over time.