Implications of practical activities in the Skills and Simulation Laboratory on students’ motivation and feelings

Abstract

Objective: to verify the implications of practical activities in the Skills and Simulation Laboratory on the motivation and feelings expressed by undergraduate students when returning to face-to-face activities after the social isolation caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Method: a quasi-experimental study, with a single group and of the pre- and post-test type, carried out through an educational intervention based on skills training on medication administration and venipuncture, with medical students from a Brazilian public university. The sample was comprised by 47 students. The instruments of students’ characterization and self-perceived feelings and the Situational Motivation Scale were used for data collection. Results: in the sample, 98% mentioned the lack of practical activities during the pandemic. The most frequently described feeling was anxiety. After carrying out the activity, there was a change in the frequency of expressed feelings, although there was no significant change in motivational levels. External Regulation (5.1 - 5.6), Identified Regulation (6.1 - 6.4) and Intrinsic Motivation (5.6 - 6.0) presented high results, showing similarity to the feelings reported by the learners. Conclusion: motivation is essential for effective learning and the use of active methodologies reinforces skills built in an affective way in the students facing the learning process.

Mapping the learning styles of medical students in Brazil

“…Motivation and the correct use of active methodologies are essential for academic learning [ 8 ] and structuring education according to the student’s learning style is key to developing study skills [ 9 ]. It is therefore necessary to use teaching practices that encourage student engagement; however, first the profile of the students must be mapped since the learning process is complex and is not limited to the acquisition of answers or knowledge but rather involves numerous individual and social variables [ 10 ].…”