Psychology Students' Experiences with the Application of a Memory Workshop: A Case of Challenge-Based Learning

Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) is an educational methodology with positive outcomes for the training of health professionals, involving them in the healthy processes of the community and improving their communication, empathy, and knowledge. This study describes the experiences of final-year B.S. in Clinical Psychology students solving challenges in a CBL memory program for older people. The primary goal of our qualitative study with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology was to describe the experiences of psychology students when they are solving the challenges of the memory program by CBL. Three students who implemented the memory workshop participated in this research. After obtaining informed consent, semi-structured interview of no longer than 40 min was used to collect the experiences during the CBL. This challenge helped them deepen real-world experiences and realize the importance of peer collaboration and communication. The latter were crucial for the student's success in the program, as they found the necessity to generate and fulfill roles. The students highlighted the respect for the skills of other teammates and the development of their cognitive flexibility through spontaneous situations. The contact with older adults helped students to break down prejudices about working with this population.