Sofia Menéres

Adaptability is a key element of being a healthcare professional. Previous research has investigated how adaptability manifests in clinical workplaces, but insight into what adaptability means to m...

This study explores whether students' perceptions of aspects to be improved in pedagogical activities can contribute to understanding their level of adaptation to the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methodology in Medical Education. A clear understanding of academic tasks is essential for effective learning. The transition from traditional teacher-centered to a student-centered active learning model requires students to adjust their perceptions to new ways of learning to maximize their learning experiences. However, assessing students’ adaptation to the new method through purpose-designed instruments and sessions can be extremely demanding and overwhelming for educational researchers, those responsible for curriculum implementation and educational quality assurance, as well as for students themselves. Using content analysis, we evaluated the responses of 56 first-year students of an integrated Master's degree in Medicine to two open-ended questions in a pedagogical evaluation survey, already answered by the students, about suggestions for improvement in lectures and tutorial sessions. The identified categories indicate that responses to the questions in the pedagogical evaluation questionnaires offers valuable insights into students' perceptions of the new PBL educational approach. Regarding students' progressive adaptation to the new method, our findings suggest a gradual adjustment to the new learning model. However, by the end of Year 1, students still offer suggestions that align more with a teacher-centered approach rather than the student-centered philosophy inherent to PBL. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are proposed. Capturing students’ perceptions of the new learning model and their evolution provides valuable insights for developing strategies to enhance students’ learning experiences and achieve better educational outcomes, particularly in contexts where PBL has recently been implemented.

In this paper, we present a longitudinal case study involving four dyads with babies with Down syndrome from birth until the age of 7 years – the moment at which the children were observed for the last time before they began compulsory schooling. At each data collection point, the mother was given a semi-directive interview and we filmed a free interaction situation. The objective of our study was to carry out an indepth analysis of the ways in which mothers adapt to the birth of a ‘different baby’, the evolution of their expectations in relation to the child's development, mother–child interaction and early support for both the child and the family, and the way in which these aspects of the overall situation relate to the children's development. The data of our longitudinal study show that there is an interaction between children's development and family characteristics and patterns, particularly mother–child interaction and the way in which the mother deals with the stress factors associated with the fact that she has a disabled child. We found that the four dyads experienced different models of early support, which to some extent reflect what really does happen in Portugal in cases involving children with disabilities, and that the programmes' impact was not identical in every situation. The most successful was the one which best suited the family's wishes, and involved both the mother and later on the kindergarten teacher.