Project 1: Learning to learn: the challenge of problem-based learning (PBL)

This project, framed within innovation in teaching methodologies and strategies, aims to improve the processes of planning, organization, coordinated development, and review of teaching practice. It affects several first-year nursing degree courses. The design of specific teaching methodologies for the first year of the degree program should facilitate the transition from high school to university, aligning student progress with university training demands in order to improve academic performance and reduce dropout rates.

The improvement we propose in this project is based on the use of Problem-Based Learning (PBL). The application of this methodology across several subjects (the entire basic science block: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, nutrition, and research) is particularly relevant.

Project 2: Bologna, Final Degree Projects and ICTs: from teaching 1.0 to meaningful learning 2.0

To adapt to the needs of today's society, higher education institutions must become more flexible and develop ways to integrate ICTs into their educational processes. At the same time, it is necessary to implement a new conception of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), where students as users become the focus, and where the roles of professors and the design and delivery of instruction change. All of this, in turn, implies changes in teaching and learning methods towards a more flexible model.

In this context, projects are needed that are driven by the innovative use of various technological tools to support teaching. In our case, the nursing degree and the final degree project (TFG) course present a training need in the area of research project development, which can be addressed from this perspective. Achieving this training objective through traditional methods, such as face-to-face courses for 25 tutors (each with their own overloaded schedules) and more than 60 students, becomes an immense and often unrewarding effort. Therefore, it is necessary to seek other resources to ensure that this training takes place. To this end, we propose using the virtual classroom designed to introduce innovative methodologies in online teaching, including collaborative learning methodologies. We propose creating digital teaching materials based on the training needs identified by the students and tutors themselves, and generated by the course tutors. These learning modules will consist of learning objects such as ULLmedia recordings, teaching articles in digital format, video conferences, and self-assessment questionnaires.

Project 3: Case analysis in clinical practice as a learning tool in Health Sciences

This project, framed within innovation in teaching methodologies and strategies, aims to improve the planning, organization, coordinated development, and review of teaching practices. It affects several clinical nursing practice courses throughout the entire undergraduate training program. The design of specific teaching methodologies for clinical practice should facilitate the transition from theory to patient care, aligning student progress with training demands in order to improve their academic and professional performance.

The improvement we propose in this project is based on the collaborative work of students and professionals from different disciplines (nursing, medicine, psychology, and anthropology). The application of this methodology across several subjects is particularly relevant.

This collaborative work will be carried out through the analysis of clinical cases collected by students during their clinical rotations. These cases will then be reviewed by the students and experts to better understand the patient's problem or situation, identify underlying principles, and achieve learning objectives.

What truly characterizes collaborative clinical case studies as an educational methodology is undoubtedly the introduction of real-life problems or situations as the central focus of learning. While traditional education typically begins with a theoretical exposition followed by an attempt to apply that theory to a practical example, this approach follows the reverse process: students must be able to extract the necessary theoretical principles from the practical situation in order to carry out an appropriate professional intervention in the patient's case.

There are practical, pedagogical, and conceptual reasons for adopting the development of clinical cases as the methodology of choice in health sciences training.