Os sete artigos publicados neste número especial da Revista Online Indagatio Didactica (ID) foram selecionados de entre os trabalhos desenvolvidos no âmbito de uma ação de formação intitulada Pedagogia no Ensino Superior: Estratégias de ensino, aprendizagem e avaliação inovadoras, promovida pela UINFOC – Unidade Continuada de Formação Continuada da Universidade de Aveiro. A ação de formação decorreu na Universidade de Aveiro no período compreendido entre 1 de março a 5 de abril de 2014, tendo sido acreditada por 1 ECTS pelo Conselho Científico da Universidade de Aveiro. Intitulamos este número especial por Partilha de práticas pedagógicas no ensino superior face ao âmbito dos artigos aqui reunidos.

The active strategy linking teaching and research was applied in the context of the course of Methods and  echniques of Research in Education of the 1st year of the Master’s programme inPre School and Primary Education of the Instituto Superior Politécnico Gaya. The strategy wasimplemented by the development of the following activities: A1: Brainstorming; A2: Lookingfor information; A3: Creating reading records - analysis / critical approach; A4: SWOT Analysis;A5: Questioning/ discussion; A6: Critical reflection; A7: “Critical friend”. The choice of topicwas based on the initial assumption that the skills developed by the strategy matched thecontent of the course (also associated with research). This issue and the reduced number ofstudents of the class (4 students) allowed: the development of monitored research moments,individual presentations, the promotion of questioning opportunities, interaction / discussionand individual writing.

The learning strategy based on small groups of active listening, followed by a large groupdiscussion, was applied to a classroom session with 42 students. Using image (excerpt froma film), and written and oral production, it was intended to: (i) direct students’ attention tothe issues related to the topic to be taught and addressed in the film; and (ii) structure theirparticipation in the debate about the film on a large group. The large group was divided intosix groups which were assigned different roles, given precise instructions, and distributed scriptswith guiding questions to be answered using keywords. A strong support and enthusiasm fromstudents was observed. At the end of the session, a survey was administered to assess students’perception about the applied strategy. Students strongly agreed or totally agreed with thescope of the strategy’s objectives.

Specific strategies for active learning - cooperative learning and problem solving - wereapplied to 20 students of the third year on the Nursing Degree, in the module Maternal HealthNursing and Obstetrics. Problem-based learning follows 4 steps: problem definition; presentationof alternatives; selection of possibilities; and implementation of solutions. In this context, weformulated two problem situations where students needed to find alternatives, select the mostappropriate, discuss until reaching consensus. Cooperative learning is based on five pillars,which were followed to solve the problems: positive interdependence; individual responsibility;classroom interaction; appropriate use of interpersonal/social skills; and self-assessment. Studentswere organized in groups of three, and a role to each student was assigned, following the‘rules’ of cooperative learning. Both strategies have been used to prove the effectiveness inthe involvement and contribution to the common success as a group. At the end of the session,a questionnaire was applied. Students were asked to identify strengths and weaknesses ofthe use of pedagogical strategies already mentioned. 55% of students reported cooperativelearning as extremely important for their learning and 45% considered it very important. As forproblem solving, 35% reported it as extremely important, while 65% considered it very important.As strengths, students highlighted the promotion of critical thinking and reflection. Finally, asthe weakest point, lack of time was identified for the use of these strategies.

Student-centred learning strategies stimulate the development of individual potential. Thepurpose of this article is to describe the implementation of an innovative strategy applied in alab session taken by 14 first year students (novice) enrolled in a Nursing Degree. The instructionand training of a technical procedure were performed by a student studying in an advancedacademic level (expert). The expert student was supervised by the teacher. At the end of thesession, a questionnaire was applied to both the novice and expert students. Data were analysedaccording to Bardin methodology. Peer coaching was important to stimulate the creation ofsynergies and interaction amongst the students, since it allowed a responsible shared reflectivespace. Novice students (i.e. first years) considered that the strategy was innovative, enabledthem to freely expressed their feelings and emotions related to the clinical context. For them,the strategy seems to enhance formal knowledge acquisition, self-awareness, self-efficacy,and reflection. For the expert student, peer coaching was important to develop reflection,responsibility, and formal, ethical and professional knowledge.

In different learning environments, students need to be encouraged to develop skills such ascommunication. Therefore, the use of cooperative strategies such as Think-Pair-Share (TPS),that encourage critical thinking and the sharing of ideas, should be a priority. Using Think-Pair-Share as a pedagogical strategy promotes interpersonal relationships through processes ofsharing ideas, debate, and for achieving consensual perspectives. This strategy was developedin one session with 22 students from the Nursing Degree Course in the subject of Nursing andObstetrics Maternal Health. This session was aimed at systematising and reviewing importantcontents for clinical practice. At the end of the session, the students were requested to completea questionnaire in order to analyse their conceptions regarding the use of this pedagogicalstrategy. When asked about the contribution of this strategy (TPS) for their learning, on a scaleof 1 to 5 about 72.7% of the students reported that this strategy had an extremely importantcontribution to their learning, while 27.3% referred the strategy as very important. Throughoutthe session students actually used active listening skills, communication and cooperation,which were central to their involvement. It was found, therefore, that, while using TPS, studentsspent more time involved in tasks, and simultaneously improved the quality of their responsesto proposed activities.

The mirroring technique is a pedagogical strategy applied in a clinical context with recognisedcontributions to the teaching and learning processes within the Nursing field. The use of thisstrategy in laboratory sessions, which anticipate the clinical context but in a controlled simulationenvironment, seems to be an added value for students learning. In order to understand thecontributions that students perceive when using the mirroring technique in a lab session, wedeveloped a descriptive study of qualitative nature with fourteen first year students enrolledin the curricular unit ‘Fundamentals of Nursing II’. When adapting the mirroring technique inthese classes, where it was expected students to train a technical procedure, the originalreflective dyad was kept and non-participant observers were added. Each student assumeddifferent roles throughout the session. At the end of the session, a questionnaire specificallydesigned to gather data on this session was applied. This questionnaire was constituted by openquestions and therefore a qualitative data analysis was carried out. Students demonstratedto be motivated and engaged with the learning process throughout the session. As the mainstrengths for using the mirroring strategy, students highlighted: peer feedback, peer observation,self-assessment, active listening, and peer support. As less stronger points, students mentioned:pressure felt by peer observation, peer inadequate preparation for the class, and possibility ofhurting colleagues when giving them feedback. It is interesting to notice that self-assessment andlearning by doing mistakes were important contributions mentioned by the students regardingthe mirroring technique. This strategy demonstrates to have positive results in students learningby enhancing not only their technical but also psychosocial competences.

“Scenes of Real Life” was the title I chose for a laboratory practice session for 1st yearundergraduate students about the theme nasogastric intubation, where role-playing andsimulation were used as active teaching and learning strategies. This class is part of themodule Fundamentals and Procedures II of the course degree in Nursing. Role-playing andsimulation are two forms of experiential learning. In role-playing, students can experiencedifferent roles, assuming a certain profile or personality characteristic, and interact or engagein diverse and complex learning scenarios. On the other hand, simulation involves a realisticor already known situation, in which the role of the participants may not be as prominent ordistinct as in role-playing. These pedagogical strategies were chosen, because they fit thetype of class, and are excellent means for developing students’ skills and competences. Thesestrategies are also facilitators of the teaching and learning process. Students’ perspectives onthe pedagogical strategies are aligned with what can be found in the literature on the field.These active strategies stimulated the students to become more involved, and to participatemore in the overall teaching and learning processes. Developing this nature of interaction isnot simple for the lecturer, but it is rewarding due to the receptivity of the students to the useof these strategies.

O atual número da Revista Online Indagatio Didactica é composto por treze artigos distribuídos por cinco secções diferentes revelando, assim, a diversidade de temáticas abordadas. A secção Avaliação apresenta dois artigos, a secção Didática e Desenvolvimento Curricular conta com cinco artigos, bem como a secção Tecnologias da Informação em Educação e na secção Outros Olhares foi incluído um trabalho.

With the increased investment in research and innovation, the assessment of research quality isbeing more and more regulated by standards that seek excellence. However, the dimensionsconsidered for this evaluation have progressively been based on the quantification of its products,the measurement of bibliometric and in the use of citation as a way of measuring the impactregardless of the objects, aims and research fields.This emphasis on quantification has provoked discussion within the scientific community especiallyin the fields of social sciences and humanities where these concepts and measures should be readin context, respecting their specific culture and dissemination of research.Under this assumption, this paper presents the main trends in the evaluation of the quality of researchwith particular attention to their impact in the context of educational research based on a studyconducted within the research center ‘Didactics and Technology in Education of Trainers’ (CIDTFF).In this context, we aimed to identify the dimensions (sub dimensions and indicators) considered tobe the most relevant by its researchers to develop research.The results highlight the role of fundraising, coordination and participation in international projectsand the relevance of the research environment as a factor favoring the creation of a quality culture.