Browsing by Author "Soares, Filomena"
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- Mapping the implementation of active learning approaches in a school of engineering - the positive effect of teacher trainingPublication . Lima, Rui M.; Villas-Boas, Valquíria; Soares, Filomena; Carneiro, Olga S.; Ribeiro, Paulo; Mesquita, DianaThis study aims to propose a method for mapping the implementation of active learning approaches by quantifying engineering teachers’ self-perception. It also seeks to examine the correlations between the implementation of active learning approaches and training, as well as publications focused on active learning. To conduct the study, active learning concepts were defined, and a set of approaches were selected for consideration in the survey. A questionnaire was developed to collect data, which was completed by teachers of 246 courses from 14 engineering programs within a school of engineering. The findings revealed that only 11% of the courses studied did not implement any active learning approach. Project-Based Learning emerged as the most implemented approach, which aligns with the context of the engineering school. Additionally, positive correlations were found between training and the implementation of active learning approaches. This work makes contributions both to the theory, as it presents a way for measuring the perceived implementation of active learning approaches and the correlation with training and publications, and for institutional policy, as it shows the importance of training for that same implementation.
- Physioland: a motivational complement of physical therapy for patients with neurological diseasesPublication . Martins, Tiago; Carvalho, Vítor; Soares, Filomena; Leão, CelinaThe number of patients with mobility constraints is increasing as a result of neurological diseases. From the substantiation of the lost functions recoveries, it was possible to determine that the nervous system is able to reorganize itself expressing its property called neuroplasticity. Physical therapy is the well-known way to encourage and promote this ability. However, repetitive traditional physical therapy exercises may become boring and patients eventually abandon their physiotherapeutic programs. The development of new environments that motivate patients to continue with their treatments may be a suitable alternative or complementary tool. Serious games seems to be the ideal tool to provide them. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present Physioland, a serious game already developed which can be a motivational complement for the physical therapy of patients with neurological diseases. Physioland is a non-invasive system that uses Image Processing Techniques and Artificial Intelligence to monitor patients and adapts some exercises of traditional physical therapy to electronic game situations. To determine whether Physioland would be motivating and challenging enough to increase a patient's desire to perform the exercises and continue/complete the rehabilitation process the game was tested in a clinical environment using two samples: one with twelve health professionals in the area of physiotherapy and the other with eleven patients with neurological diseases. The research team carried out a questionnaire-based survey. This questionnaire is an adaptation of another one already validated in the literature—the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). For the analysis of the data obtained with the Likert scale, percentages were calculated. The answers to the open questions were subject to a content analysis. The results showed that the developed game, Physioland, proved to be highly motivating for patients at the physiotherapy clinic where it was tested. If the results are similar in other clinics, Physioland, can be used as a good and effective complement to traditional physical therapy for patients with neurological diseases.