HEALTH SCIENCE STUDENTS' OPINION ABOUT THEIR PARTICIPATION IN ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THEIR LEARNING

Introduction: The consolidation of the European Higher Education Area requires new patterns of action among teachers and students. For this reason, it is necessary to design and study innovative teaching-learning methods. In this sense, since 2015, our teaching team, belonging to the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), together with research staff, students and administration and services staff, have been working to develop a different learning and evaluation methodologies that encourage students' involvement in the teaching-learning process and their participation in the classroom. Objective: To know the opinion of the students related to different innovative activities carried out in the classroom aiming to promote the participation and active learning of the students. Methodology: Opinion of the students about different aspects on 5 Projects of Innovation and Improvement of Teaching Quality (PI) carried out, since 2015, was collected. Opinions were collected through Likert opinion surveys. These PI were carried out in various Degrees (Pharmacy, Food Science and Technology, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Medicine and Optics and Optometry) and a Double Degree (Pharmacy and Human Nutrition and Dietetics) at UCM. All the PI were granted by the Vice-Rectorate of Quality of the UCM. They were: 1) Scientific Conferences on: "Analytical techniques used for the determination of nutrients and phytochemicals with clinical and food importance" (PI-65) (2015/16); 2) "Kahoot tool as a strategy to encourage participation and active learning of students" (PI-43) (2016/17); 3) "The use of podcasts and videos subtitled as teaching and integrative tools in the Degree of Pharmacy and Human Nutrition and Dietetics" (PI-144) (2017/18); 4) "Methodological strategies focused on improving learning in students with diversity" (PI-5) (2017/18) and 5) "Spanish Scientists: a world to discover" (PI-104) (2018/19). Three of them were focused on improving the student learning process (PI-65, 43 and 104) and two of them to improve learning for students with special needs (PI-5 and PI-144). Results: The percentage of students who answered the opinion questionnaires was 24.7; 25.1; 32.3; 66.6 and 18.7% in THE PID-65, 43 and 104, 5 and 144 projects, respectively. The items "This has been useful for me to follow the subject" and "I found it original" were common to all of the questionnaires. The average scores of these items were 3.7 and 4.2 out of 5 points, respectively. Project PI-43 (about Kahoot tool used in the classroom) had the highest score in the first item (4 out of 5). Project PI-5 (in which videos and poster were used in the lab to facilitate the learning of students, in general, and those with diversity, in particular) had the lowest score (3.3 out of 5) with respect to the second item (originality). The item "I found it a fair tool for continuous evaluation option" was common in the projects PI-65, 43 and 104. The average score for this item was 4 points out of 5 and the project PI-104 had the highest score (4.4 out of 5). Conclusions: The percentage of students who evaluated the projects was low. Scores greater than 3.5 (out of 5) were obtained in the following items: usefulness for the follow-up of the subject, originality and adequate system for continuous evaluation. Students have a favourable opinion on the development of innovative activities during the class.