Cooperative Learning and the Training of the Physicians through Active Methodologies: Views of Students and Teachers

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION In order to acquire the medical skills recommended by the National Curricular Guidelines, academic institutions in the area of heath have looked for new strategies. In this context, it is seen that cooperative learning, when stimulated in the framework of active teaching-learning methodologies, can bring important advantages for medical training. The general objective of this study was to explore students’ and teachers’ views on cooperative learning in a medical curriculum based on active methods (Problem Based-Learning and Investigation). The specific objectives were: to investigate the benefits of cooperation in small groups of students, and to identify the needs for teachers to adapt their practices when working with these small groups. METHODS This is a descriptive, quantitative and qualitative study, with the application of questionnaires and semi structured interviews to students in the first to fourth years of medical school, and teachers participating in tutorials and pedagogical cycles. The data from the questionnaires were arranged in tables and evaluated through a Likert scale. The interviews were recorded and transcribed for subsequent grouping of cores of meaning for content analysis, thematic modality. The research was supported by Pibic/CNP, with process number 115007/2016-4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Regarding the student’s profile, the majority were aged between 22 and 25 years, female, and White. Regarding the teachers’ profile, 85% had graduated by the traditional method, with 16 to 30 years since graduating,15 to 21 years of working with active methods, and 92% with postgraduate degrees. The quantitative and qualitative results were convergent; the students and teachers presented analogous conceptions about the benefits ofcooperative learning in small groups, believing that communication skills, critical thinking, positive interdependence, advance toward teamwork, and the acquisition of cognitive knowledge are guaranteed in this process. It was also observed that as the students moved up through the grades, their views changed slightly in relation to several questions. This may be realted to the extra maturity that comes with the passage of years, but it is largely due to the experience withactive methods. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS Cooperative learning is efficient within small groups. It brings social, cognitive and psychomotor benefits, and it is favored in the area of active methodologies with lifelong learning. The results of this study could be useful for providing guidance to managers and coordinators of other medical courses seeking to use active methodologies, or even for those that already use them.