Methodology
Educational Proposal
The courses are based on concepts of adult learning, collaborative learning, project-based and research-based learning, community-centered and health system-centered education, training for quality of life, sustainability and innovation, applied according to scientific evidence in health education and principles of institutional resilience.
Adult learning
Educator and student as beings in continuous evolution
Adult learning aims to reinforce participation and horizontality in the educator-learner relationship and in the action-research process, considering both educator and learner as beings in continuous evolution.
The learning process values prior experiences and recognizes that both the teacher and the learner are in a constant process of development. Adults want to know why they need to learn certain things and learn when they recognize a real need.
The proposal is based on the socio-cognitive education theory, or social learning, which enhances identity formation, values the role of the social environment in the training of health professionals, and positions the teacher as a mediator between the subject, the object of study, and peers. The pedagogical experience is related to the sociocultural context of the learner and is a product of social interaction mediated by language.
Theoretical references
Thinkers who underpin our proposal
They all support the idea that learning happens through interaction, through dialogue in the pursuit of synthesis established from a critical view of reality.
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Vygotsky
The learning process should value the prior experiences of those involved. Learning occurs in relation to others, both interconnected through culture, objects, symbols, and language.
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Malcolm Knowles
Adults want to know why they need to learn certain things and they learn when they recognize a real need. Learning is enhanced by activities based on real-life situations; intellectual resources and relevant experiences serve as reference points for new learning.
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Paulo Freire
Autonomy, initiative, creativity, and responsibility are guiding values that result in individual transformation and a commitment to changing reality. Learning results from a cognitive, political, ethical, historical, cultural, and social process. Education is transformative for both: "He who educates, in educating, is himself reformed."
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David Ausubel
Meaningful learning is the cognitive interaction between potentially meaningful new knowledge and existing prior knowledge within the learner's cognitive structure. The learner assigns meaning to new knowledge, mobilizing a predisposition to learn, and the student's experiences constitute the starting point of their learning.
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John Dewey
Learning should be guided by and for experience that results in solving real-world problems. It proposes the "learning to learn" model and advocates for the development of the learner's critical thinking skills.
Pedagogical pillars
How do we structure teaching?
Collaborative Learning
This approach is used when two or more people learn together, in a student-centered teaching method. It emphasizes the role of the group learner who must collaboratively solve problems, build new knowledge, or develop projects, sharing responsibilities and ideas. Scientific evidence demonstrates the positive impact of collaborative learning in the health field.
Project-Based Learning
It emerges from the perspective of offering education with active and collaborative methods that prioritize the development of the student's autonomy and critical thinking, as well as management, collaborative work, and communication skills. It focuses on developing students' creativity and entrepreneurship through activities that result in changes in the reality of the community and the regional health system.
Community-Centered Education
The teaching of health professions takes place not only in hospital settings or clinics, but also incorporates the community as a setting for the teaching-learning process. This educational approach brings students closer to the health reality of the population and its most prevalent problems. Medical and dental training guidelines in Brazil and worldwide dictate that teaching should also be carried out in the community, based on the practice of the general practitioner, and that they should work alongside an interprofessional team.
21st-century skills
The four fundamental skills of contemporary teaching
Collaborative learning is, by nature, interactionist and is based on the acquisition and development of the four fundamental skills of 21st-century teaching, as advocated by the Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari in "21 Lessons for the 21st Century":
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Communication
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Creativity
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Critical Thinking
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Collaboration
Sustainability and innovation
Commitment to quality of life and the environment
The courses are committed to individual and collective quality of life, supporting, producing, and implementing innovations. They utilize principles of environmental education, which encompasses processes through which individuals and communities construct social values, knowledge, skills, and attitudes geared towards environmental conservation, with a view to its use, quality of life, and sustainability (National Environmental Education Policy – Law No. 9795/1999).
Based on the pedagogical approach, the program provides opportunities to identify problems and seek solutions, develop critical thinking, decision-making skills, leadership, communication and collaborative work, and the production and implementation of innovation—skills expected of professionals upon completion of their undergraduate or postgraduate studies.
Collective purpose
What we aim to develop in each student
“To collectively develop the capacity for continuous learning, open communication, facing challenges with creativity, optimism, and flexibility, while cultivating values of respect, generosity, gratitude, and honesty.”
Discover our courses
Discover how São Leopoldo Mandic's educational approach is put into practice in its undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Medicine and Dentistry.