Aprendizaje en la universidad: Desafios para el siglo XXI. Del enfasis en los productos al enfasis en los procesos

A review is presented of the main psychological paradigms and their relation to learning. Some reflections are offered concerning higher education (particulary in Venezuela). The need for change in educational practices at the University is emphasized. Several deficiencies were observed in the performance of University undergraduate students, at the beginning and at the end of the studies. These deficiencies are attributed to the prevalence of associacionist models of the teaching-learning processes. Although ihre are changes based on the cognitive and constructivistic paradigms -at the theoretical level- there is a lot of work to be done in order to bring these changes to the University classroom. A model of University classroom is presented in which processes more than products are emphasized. This is a challenge for the XXIst. century.