Reflections of Student Engagement Acts at the making process of a Course Evaluation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Institutional evaluation can diagnose tendencies e misalignment from its goals, knowing and recognizing its strengths and weaknesses. Thus, it’s related with the improvement of graduation quality and, therefore, of graduated professionals. The student participation at the development of this process is indispensable for the evaluation to consolidate itself as democratic and representative. OBJECTIVE: To present the experience of the Course Evaluation Day, an evaluation developed by students of a public medical school. EXPERIENCE REPORT: The evaluation’s design was proposed by medical undergraduates, based on evaluations such as SAEME and the SPICES method, aiming to discuss and evaluate the pillars: teacher-student relationship, infrastructure and educational planning. The event occurred in two periods, counting with the participation of undergraduate students from first to sixth classes. By the morning, there was a qualification step regarding the curricular guidelines, teaching methodologies, evaluations and students’ mental health, followed by the individual quiz filling. In the afternoon, there were the collective discussion spaces, followed by a plenary for sharing the main conclusions from each group and forwarding its claims. DISCUSSION: Student engagement was observed in policy and decision-making activities at the school, in the provision and evaluation of the school’s education program and when its feedback is considered in curriculum development and revision. CONCLUSION: This initiative enabled theoretical acknowledgement about health education, acquisition of organizing, responsibility and ethics skills, enrichment of the local medical education and potentialization of students' critical thinking.