Avaliação da aprendizagem em um tema de pediatria no curso de medicina da Unifenas-BH baseada na taxonomia solo

Abstract

Introduction: One of the goals students should achieve during graduation is to develop the ability to solve complex problems, which require higher-order cognitive skills. Routine assessments do not identify how students structure their learning in general; they only assess the acquisition of the content studied. Verifying how students evolve in their thinking skills allows for the planning of strategies that favor deep learning. The evaluation of the learning cycle makes it possible to "visualize" which direction learning takes, the points achieved, and the eventual necessary adjustments. The SOLO taxonomy (Structure of Observing Learning Outcome) classifies the structure of student responses into 5 levels: pre-structural, uni- structural, multi-structural, relational, and extended abstract. It helps to identify how a student operates the thought in a task and, consequently, evaluate how the learning process unfolds. Objective: To assess the learning cycle of a pediatric theme in the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 11th periods of the medicine course at UNIFENAS-BH using the SOLO Taxonomy. Materials and methods: Quantitative cross-sectional study that used, for data collection, an evaluation instrument on a theme common to all periods, based on the assumptions of the SOLO Taxonomy, which we applied to students from the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th periods, in the 1st semester of 2020. We collected 190 questionnaires, 171 of which were valid. Pearson's chi- square test and Fischer's exact test were our choices to evaluate the association between the variables: course period vs. SOLO category. The results were considered significant for a significance probability of less than 5%, thus having at least 95% confidence in the conclusions presented. Results and conclusions: Our results showed that students from all periods presented a higher percentage of answers in SOLO levels 4 and 5 (deep learning). However, at the SOLO level 5, it was lower across the sample. Reflecting a longer clinical experience in the medical internship, students from the 11th period stood out with a higher percentage of answers at SOLO 5 level in three questions related to diagnosis, propaedeutics, and therapeutics. However, the students fared poorly at the prestructural level. We noticed that only 26.4% of the 11thperiod students managed to identify the answer to a question about pathophysiology, a subject commonly covered in the early stages of the course. This finding serves as an orientation for this subject to be reviewed during the internship. The SOLO Taxonomy is a relevant tool to assess learning, and the proposed model has the potential for formative assessment.