Programa “Essentials”: innovación docente en fisioterapia

Introduction

Adaptation to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is going to involve a deep restructuring of university teaching regarding curriculum design, learning methodologies and assessment models (“Competences”). The aim of this present study is to evaluate and present the quantitative and qualitative results of a new learning methodology and assessment system based on active learning: the “Essentials” Program.

Material and method

A cross-sectional, descriptive study based on the analysis of: a) results achieved by the students in the February, June and September exams from year 03-04 to year 05-06; b) the students’ opinion obtained from an anonymous self-reported questionnaire.

Results

a) A quantitative analysis (n = 653): 69.5% passed the nuclear contents and 71.1 %of them passed the course. The results obtained with the “Essentials” Program are independent of the course type and course calendar (p < 0.05). b) Qualitative analysis (n = 51): 94.1% consider that the didactic methodology makes learning easier and helps them arrange and plan their studies; 80.4 % indicate that the assessment system is in better keeping with their individual conditions (they grade it 7.1 on a 10-point scale).

Conclusions

The “Essentials” Program makes the learning process easier. This means a high percentage of students who passed (over 70 %) and high satisfaction. The academic results obtained following this methodology does not depend on the kind of subject or the official examination time.