Professor Maria da Conceição Giestas Baía Saraiva completed her PhD in Nursing from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa with the doctoral thesis entitled Assessoria pedagógica de projetos pessoais: método para o desenvolvimento de competências dos estudantes de Enfermagem (Personal Projects Pedagogical Advice: a method for the development of the nursing students’ competencies).
The doctoral research of this ESEnfC teacher showed that the implementation of the Personal Projects Pedagogical Advice Method (PPPAM) in nursing education, designed in 2001, is beneficial for the development of students’ personal and professional competencies and for the development of teacher’s pedagogical skills.
The research developed by Conceição Baía intended to replicate the PPPAM and produce scientific evidence to validate this “innovative methodology” in the teaching-learning process. This methodology is based on the “decentralisation of the teacher’s role as a conveyor of knowledge” and in “the prominent role of the student in the search for knowledge", explains Professor Conceição Baía. This method was developed during two semesters, in the academic year 2009-2010, with the assistance of six teachers (with experience in pedagogical advice) and 16 students.
In two previous studies, also included in this research, our professor sought to understand and analyse the views of teachers and students about the pedagogical advice process. This process was implemented between 1999 and 2008 within the scope of the curricular unit of Personal Development Project, which was integrated into the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing of the former Nursing School Dr. Ângelo da Fonseca (ESEAF).
According to the results obtained in the three studies included in this research, “the PPPAM, which was implemented in different periods and contexts, resulted in gains for the teachers as it helped them improve their pedagogical competencies within the scope of the project methodology. The students also reported that the teachers’ support and encouragement during the pedagogical advice process were adequate and essential for the development of the areas of interest of their personal projects and for the development of personal, academic and professional competencies”.
The PPPAM was designed in 2001 by Professor Manuel Alves Rodrigues, ESEnfC (at the time, ESEAF).
