Reflective web-portfolio and the development of learning through investigation: the innovation of innovation

Silva, Adriana de Cássia Sabino; Ferreira, Emily de Souza; Cotta, Rosângela Minardi Mitre

doi:10.1590/interface.240336

Abstract

To mitigate the challenges of 21st-century teaching and learning, active and innovative methods stand out, especially the Web Reflective Portfolio (WRP), which aims to stimulate inquiry-based learning and argumentation based on scientific evidence. The objective was to evaluate the WRP as a teaching, learning, and assessment method in competency-based training. This qualitative study used document analysis. Forty-seven WRPs, collectively constructed by 212 undergraduate nursing and nutrition students at a public university between 2020 and 2023, were analyzed. The document analysis revealed that the WRP empowers students to make decisions and solve problems, transforming passive and uncritical attitudes into active and reflective ones. The results indicate that the WRP fosters meaningful, collaborative, and autonomous learning, aligned with the National Curricular Guidelines.

Keywords
Active and engaged learning; Collaborative learning; Inquiry learning; Innovation; Self-regulation

Resumo

Para amenizar os desafios no ensino e aprendizagem do século 21, destacam-se os Métodos Ativos e Inovadores, em especial o Web-portfólio Reflexivo (WPR), que visa ao estímulo do aprendizado por investigação e à argumentação com base em evidências científicas. O objetivo foi avaliar o WPR como método de ensino, aprendizagem e avaliação na formação por competências. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa que utilizou a análise documental. Foram analisados 47 WPR construídos coletivamente por 212 estudantes de Graduação dos cursos de Enfermagem e Nutrição de uma universidade pública entre 2020 e 2023. A análise documental revelou que o WPR capacita os estudantes para a tomada de decisões e resolução de problemas, transformando posturas passivas e acríticas em ativas e reflexivas. Os resultados indicam que o WPR estimula as aprendizagens significativa, colaborativa e autônoma alinhadas às Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais.

Palavras-chave
Aprendizado ativo e engajado; Aprendizado colaborativo; Aprendizado por investigação; Inovação; Autorregulação

Resumen

Para aminorar los desafíos en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje del siglo XXI se destacan los Métodos Activos e innovadores, en especial el Web Portafolio Reflexivo (WPR), cuyo objetivo es el incentivo al aprendizaje por investigación y argumentación con base en evidencias científicas. El objetivo fue evaluar el WPR como método de enseñanza, aprendizaje y evaluación en la formación por competencias. Se trata de una investigación cualitativa que utilizó el análisis documental. Se analizaron 47 WPR elaborados colectivamente por 212 alumnos de graduación de los cursos de Enfermería y Nutrición de una universidad pública, entre 2020 y 2023. El análisis documental reveló que el WPT capacita a los alumnos para la toma de decisiones y resolución de problemas, transformando posturas pasivas y no críticas en activas y reflexivas. Los resultados indican que el WPR incentiva el aprendizaje significativo, colaborativo y autónomo, alineado a las Directrices Curriculares Nacionales.

Palabras clave
Aprendizaje activo y comprometido; Aprendizaje colaborativo; Aprendizaje por investigación; Innovación; Autorregulación

Introduction

Scientific evidence points to the need for improvements in teaching and learning practices and their relevance for the training of future health professionals¹^-³. In this context, it is believed that the use of Reflective Portfolios can help meet this need¹^-⁴.

According to Cotta and Costa⁵ and Drissen et al.⁶, the Reflective Portfolio is an active and innovative teaching, learning, and assessment method that encourages creative and autonomous knowledge construction. Therefore, it must be dynamically structured and defined according to previously outlined objectives to provide meaningful learning. Regarding its types, Cotta⁴ also emphasizes that, since 2020, due to the implementation of remote learning due to the serious health and humanitarian problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, e-portfolios and Web-Reflective Portfolios (WRP) have gained prominence. In any case, regardless of the portfolio format: paper or digital, its characteristics and dimensions to be considered for its construction remain the same.

In this scenario, it is necessary that these changes and implementation of active methods in higher education are in line with the National Curricular Guidelines (NCG) for undergraduate courses in the health field, which highlight the need for changes in teaching processes, which promote collaborative and meaningful learning and which value student participation and autonomy, aiming to shift the focus from mechanical and fragmented learning to the development of cognitive and metacognitive capacities⁷^-¹¹.

Collaborative learning is understood as the ability to work in a team (learning to live and work together), developing oral and written communication skills (learning to do), listening, patience and otherness (learning to be) and optimizing available resources⁴. Inquiry-based learning aims to cultivate in students the processes of enrichment, structuring and conceptual organization, encouraging them to exercise the ability to identify reliable sources, thus supporting their conduct with scientific evidence⁵^,¹²^-¹⁴.

In this context, the NCG for undergraduate health programs focus on training that encompasses the principles and competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) that lead to a generalist, humanistic, critical, and reflective education. This ensures people’s rights through the development of interprofessional teamwork, with special attention to comprehensive care, universal access, and the use of information and communication technologies⁷^-¹¹. Furthermore, the report, coordinated by Jacques Delors, highlights the importance of a humanistic approach to education and establishes “the four pillars of education”, namely: learning to be, learning to know, learning to do, and learning to live together¹⁵. These pillars provide students with competency-based training and enable autonomy in the process of developing the WRP.

In this context, one of the Reflective Portfolio modalities is emphasized: the WRP as an active and innovative teaching, learning, and assessment method. It aims to develop meaningful, engaged, and collaborative learning, and is inserted into the new educational paradigm by encouraging self-knowledge, reflection, peer collaboration, and shared responsibility for the teaching-learning process⁴^,⁵.

Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the WRP as an active teaching, learning, and assessment method in competency-based training, aiming to develop inquiry-based learning.

Methods

Since 2020, following the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching practice has needed to be reinvented. To this end, the current Reflective Portfolio has been given a more innovative design (an innovation of what was already considered innovative), dynamic, and digital—the WRP. This, combined with the experience accumulated since 2007 by the creator of the method and its application, served as the basis for the development of this study.

Furthermore, it was necessary to apply the WRP during several academic semesters, so that we could have concrete results and a representative sample of its use in higher education, making this study the first to be developed within this theme and with this specific innovative method.

This is a qualitative study, whose data collection was conducted using document analysis. This technique uses documents as analytical material, organizing and interpreting them according to the proposed research objectives to meet the research objectives¹⁶. The documents (in this study, the WRPs) allow for a longitudinal analysis that favors the observation of a process of maturation and evolution of individuals, groups, concepts, knowledge, behaviors, and practices, in addition to allowing the addition of the dimension of time to the understanding of the social⁴^,¹⁷^,¹⁸.

This study analyzed the WRPs constructed in the course “NUT 364 - Health Policies,” a mandatory course offered in all academic semesters at a public university in Brazil, both remotely (2020-2021) and in-person (2022-2023), totaling seven academic semesters. In this course, offered to Nursing and Nutrition students in their fifth semester, the WRPs are constructed throughout the academic semesters to stimulate critical, reflective, and investigative thinking⁴. Feedback is provided at all four WRP feedback, assessment, and self-assessment moments in the classroom by the course coordinator, based on pre-established criteria in a specific instrument developed by the coordinator specifically for this purpose: the Feedback, Self-Assessment, and Assessment Instrument (IAVACP)⁴ (Figure 1).

Figure 1
Competencies that make up the Feedback, Self-Assessment and Assessment Instrument.

The WRPs were developed collectively by teams of six or seven students (groups are formed at the beginning of the semester and remain in this configuration) throughout the semester. A total of 212 Nursing and Nutrition students who took the mandatory NUT 364 course participated.

It is worth noting that the aforementioned discipline has only one responsible teacher, who is assisted by monitors and postgraduate students undergoing teacher training by the same responsible teacher.

The WRPs were constructed digitally and incorporated into the collection made available on the discipline’s digital publishing platform, called Calameo, where they can be consulted openly and free (Link: https://en.calameo.com/accounts/6535846)

The WRP development process follows the guidelines contained in the Student Guide (Figure 2), developed by the course coordinator specifically for the development of the WRP. This guide presents the themes of each module, the construction of individual narratives (each team member constructs their own narrative), the collective construction of reflective syntheses, as well as other guidelines and a schedule with the respective dates for posting the WRPs in the virtual learning environment, in addition to the moments for self-assessment, formative assessments, and feedback⁴^,⁵.

Figure 2
Student guide for constructing the WRP in the discipline.

In the period from 2020 to 2023, 47 WRPs were collectively constructed, with WRPs 1 to 24 in the remote period (2020-2021) and WRPs 25 to 47 in the in-person period (2022-2023). For data analysis, the WRPs were dated and organized chronologically according to the period developed, being numbered to facilitate the analysis process: WRP1, WRP2, WRP3... WRP47.

To carry out the documentary analyses, a specific script was used, with the identification of the following core meanings present in the WRP: (1) Active and Engaged Learning; (2) Collaborative Learning; (3) Inquiry Learning; (4) Feedback; (5) self-assessment (by the student) and assessment (by teachers); (6) self-regulation; (7) Initial and final concept with the respective characteristics of the WRP; (8) “Who I’m” after having constructed the WRP and “Who we are” after having constructed the WRP.

To define the aforementioned core meanings, it was necessary to analyze student’s understanding of the WRP construction process as an active teaching, learning, and assessment method, their ease of understanding the content, their autonomy, and their critical-reflective stance. In addition, the literature supporting this definition¹⁹ emphasizes that constructing these core meanings also requires considering how students view their own learning process and address their weaknesses and strengths.

Document analysis was conducted by researchers who were properly trained and qualified to understand the research method and analyze the entire WRP, following the aforementioned core meanings. All researchers assigned to this task were required to have taken the NUT 364 course, enabling them to understand the WRP construction process, having experienced its construction. Each researcher was responsible for a specific number of WRPs and performed the analysis independently and blindly. Once the analysis was completed, it was forwarded to the professor/coordinator responsible for the course and subsequently discussed in discussion groups to define the divergent aspects of the analyses.

To understand the dimensions and description of these data, in the documentary analysis, we used the IAVACP⁴^,⁵ instrument as support, which aims to assess the development of communication skills, systemic, individual and/or collective information management (Figure 1).

To analyze Active Learning, we assessed whether students actively and autonomously incorporate the Student Guide’s guidelines into their WRPs, expanding their research sources and engaging with the course content. Engaged Learning refers to student’s motivation to seek out and incorporate current documents, reflections, and materials into their WRPs, guided by assertive and timely feedback for active recovery²⁰.

For Collaborative Learning, we assessed whether teams worked collaboratively and in an integrated manner, avoiding negative competition. Furthermore, we also analyzed whether the team identified its own strengths, potential, and weaknesses in the process of developing each WRP module. In this context, the dynamic division of roles within the groups (coordinator, rapporteur, and time manager), with rotations of these roles at different stages/modules of the WRP development, helped in implementing this dimension.

Regarding Inquiry-Based Learning, the student’s progressive capabilities were assessed based on assertive and immediate feedback provided by the teacher during face-to-face sessions, focusing on expanding reliable research sources and the ability to analyze and systematize, question ideas, compare and evaluate from different points of view, also demonstrating the articulation of acquired knowledge and the construction of new perspectives and ideas⁴^,⁵.

The Information Management competency assessed student’s ability to select and evaluate information from various sources, extracting it clearly and objectively. Regarding analysis, reflection, and critique, student’s self-construal of hypotheses, theoretical foundations for critically engaging with contextualized content, and ability to relate this content to knowledge acquired throughout the course and other proposed studies were assessed⁴^,⁵.

Regarding Systemic competencies, the focus was on “Learning to Learn” through the application of the content covered in the discipline, the generation and production of relevant, original ideas arising from experiences related to the content covered in the discipline, the WRP module, the individual and collective studies/research carried out and the incorporation of creativity and innovation.

After exploring the WRPs using the IAVACP instrument, the document analysis report was completed according to the proposed core meanings, allowing for the processing of the results and interpretation of the data. Each WRP was analyzed and organized to identify learning development, particularly regarding the Inquiry-Based Learning proposed in this work.

Next, we determined at which stages of the WRP development process it was possible to effectively and consistently identify the scope of Inquiry Learning. To this end, we thoroughly analyzed the initial and final concepts and respective characteristics of the WRP; the “who I’m” after constructing the WRP and “who we are” after constructing the WRP; and the strengths and weaknesses identified at the end of each module. This analysis of inquiry learning enabled us to understand the development of student’s competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes).

Ethical aspects

The research project was submitted to and approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the institution where the study was conducted, under number 4,932,419/2021, and in accordance with Resolution number 466/2012 of the National Health Council, which regulates research involving human beings.

Informed consent was requested from all individuals who participated in the study, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity.

Results

A total of 47 WRPs were analyzed (23 in the remote period and 24 in-person). The analysis focused on the WRP modules described in the Student Guide. This enabled the enhancement of student’s cognitive and metacognitive skills, facilitated by assertive and timely guidance and feedback for active recovery.

As illustrated in Frame 1, according to the student’s perceptions, the WRP contributed to Active Learning, being an active and innovative teaching method that enables the development and development of new professional, academic, individual, and collective skills.

Thumbnail

Frame 1
Student assessment of the construction of the *WRP initial concept and final concept.

The findings illustrated in this table address: (1) improvement in communication skills with an emphasis on writing, analysis, information management and the development of critical thinking; (2) improvement in systemic skills with a focus on creativity, autonomy and dynamism; (3) the ability to research, understanding the veracity of references and personal and/or group skills, where a new perspective on teamwork is mentioned, which allowed discussions about current affairs and debates with a scientific nature.

These assessments embody the dynamics and importance of developing Inquiry Learning, a learning process that encourages students to cultivate processes of enrichment, structuring, and conceptual organization, encouraging them to exercise their ability to identify reliable sources, thus supporting their conduct with scientific evidence used in their research¹⁷^,¹⁸^,²¹^,²². Regarding this core meaning, a student from the WRP 34 group emphasized that:

Throughout the modules, we set aside common sense and accessed more complex information from scientifically proven sources. In this way, the team was able to individually and collectively group the information researched in different references through reading, analysis, critique, and correlation. (student of the WPR34 group).

In each module, weaknesses and strengths were identified and analyzed throughout the teaching and learning process (Frame 2), highlighting the importance of student’s self-reflection, leading them to develop critical, reflective and creative thinking and transform what was previously a weakness into a strength for the group.

Thumbnail

Frame 2
Weaknesses and Strengths identified in the construction of the *WRP.

According to the student’s assessments in Table 2, the importance of WRP stands out as a facilitator for the process of cognitive and metacognitive development, for comprehensive, critical and creative thinking and verbal expressions extracted from the concept of WRP, weaknesses and strengths.

Traditional teaching leads to knowledge based on grades, coefficients, and punishments, encouraging passive behavior that is contrary to the exercise of critical, analytical, and reflective thinking². Thus, “learning by doing” through the development of WRP anchors students in differentiated learning as a method of teaching, learning, and assessment, a perspective on changing scenarios and the student context at the university.

Furthermore, student’s constant development was observed, fostering empowerment through contact with new and reliable scientific sources provided by Inquiry-Based Learning. These skills were developed through constant classroom feedback provided by the use of the IAVACP instrument. Thus, practicing self-regulation develops the ability to monitor, supervise, and control their reactions and, when necessary, make possible changes to advance the learning objective.

Students achieve greater engagement in learning, which leads to the development of a stronger teacher-student and student-teacher relationship¹⁸. Self-assessments, within the context of formative assessment with immediate feedback, is incorporated throughout the WRP development process, enabling students to develop the ability to evaluate and complete their own tasks, correcting them as necessary, and practicing shared responsibility and managing and monitoring their actions, behaviors, and emotions. Regarding feedback and self-assessment, we highlight the following statement from a student in the WRP24 group:

The feedback provided by the teacher at each classroom assessment enabled us to practice self-assessment, progressively leading us to apply self-correction, aiming to achieve the established learning goals. (student of the WPR24 group)

Thus, students become aware of their strengths and potential, and this becomes evident in each module completed, as it enhances and develops skills in both their personal and professional lives. Thus, the development of Inquiry-Based Learning leads to Active and Engaged Learning that fosters shared responsibility for mistakes and successes, which progressively leads to the development of autonomy that directly impacts the student’s academic, social and professional life.

Regarding active and engaged learning, we highlight the statement of one of the students in the WRP43 group:

WRP is a teaching and learning method that requires time, effort, and dedication with an active attitude toward knowledge and constant critical analysis through continued reflection. Furthermore, it allows you to monitor the information process of your own knowledge. (student of the WPR43 group)

In turn, the WRP30 highlights:

The foundation in practical work, combined with the research and topics covered in the course (theoretical), help construct the arguments presented in the WRP. Furthermore, the use of various resources makes the WRP presentation more engaging, combining text with images of cartoons, news stories, graphs, and tables. (student of the WPR30 group)

The statement in WRP12 elucidates collaborative learning:

I was able to learn and understand the importance of working as a team, understanding that my performance contributes to the performance of my classmate. (student of the WPR12 group)

Therefore, this teaching method proved to be a facilitator of the reworking of the teaching and learning process in the context of meaningful, active, engaged, collaborative and research-based learning, highlighting WRP as a method of teaching, learning, assessment and self-regulation.

Discussion

The findings of this study demonstrate that the WRP encourages meaningful, engaged, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning, aiming for the construction of knowledge autonomously, creatively, and responsibly, as an ongoing process. This is because the WRP is a strategic and highly innovative instrument that enhances the dynamic, critical, and reflective learning process. The results of our study coincide with those of Fida et al.²³, who emphasize the importance of encouraging students to take responsibility for their learning and professional development, in addition to enabling the process of identifying the construction.

Fida et al.²³ further state that the use of portfolios provided students with the opportunity to receive and provide feedback during meetings with their mentors, improving their performance. These findings are consistent with the student’s perceptions presented in the results of this study in Tables 1 and 2, which demonstrate that the skills acquired through Inquiry-Based Learning are extremely relevant for the training of future healthcare professionals.

Thus, the relevance of this study is in line with the findings of Colares and Oliveira²⁴, who demonstrated that innovative teaching methodologies are extremely important for the development of competencies in the healthcare profession. These methodologies enable interaction between students and different settings, facilitate the contextualization of knowledge, critical and reflective thinking, and the identification by students of their own strengths and potential. This statement is confirmed by the students in the construction of the WRP when they report as potential the team’s perception of progress in overcoming some weaknesses along the way.

Given the above, the development of Inquiry-Based Learning meets the requirements of the NCG, as it fosters the development of skills encompassing the four pillars of Education, which are essential for Health Policy and especially for the Brazilian National Health System (SUS)⁷^,⁸^,¹⁵^,²⁵^-²⁸. It is also important for universities to stimulate cognitive, metacognitive, social, emotional, affective, technological, and instrumental skills in students¹⁰^,¹¹^,²⁹. This is because, given the results presented and being, therefore, a differential for professional training in health, it becomes a priority in a Higher Education educational system¹.

A systematic review and meta-analysis conducted in 2024, which aimed to analyze the effectiveness of faculty development programs for training university professors in the health field, found results that demonstrated significant changes in faculty behavior to stimulate and encourage students, improve the quality of teaching and teaching staff, and improve skills such as self-assessment. Furthermore, the meta-analysis demonstrated evidence of the effectiveness of these program’s positive effects after their implementation, with an effect of 1.7%, a 4.8% increase. This study reinforces that, in addition to being important for universities to encourage their students to develop cognitive, metacognitive, and reflective skills, it is also crucial that pre-service teachers be encouraged to improve their teaching practices based on current recommendations, especially in the higher education context.

Therefore, metacognition enables students to assimilate knowledge, develop skills, and acquire systemic information. This leads to an understanding of cognitive development, strengthening already developed and structured areas and supporting and motivating areas that require attention¹⁰^,¹¹. In this context, it encourages the development of investigative learning, stimulates knowledge production, and leads to the practice of skills.

The results obtained in this study reinforce the points made by Cotta⁴ and Cotta, Costa, and Mendonça²¹, who demonstrated that the WRP is an excellent tool for learning and assessing the skills of medical, nursing, and nutrition students, encouraging them to be reflective and develop communication, empathy, and teamwork skills.

Cotta⁴ and Gonçalves et al.²² also point out that many students graduating from health programs have little knowledge about the SUS. Thus, the dimension of Inquiry-Based Learning for the training of undergraduate students in the health field stands out, and it can be inferred that the WRP represents an excellent method for developing this competency, which is so important for the training of health professionals committed to the SUS, which is in line with our findings.

It is clear that this learning process is ongoing. When students began constructing individual narratives (each group member constructed their own individual narrative) with their respective themes in a reflective manner, focusing on different perspectives (scientific literature and the press, social media, etc.), they were able to practice argumentation and criticism through “dialogue” with the different authors, as well as practicing the correct citation of updated references. Reflective synthesis, in turn, was achieved through the reflective integration of all the individual narratives constructed by the team members, thus practicing systematization⁴^,⁵.

The relevance of Inquiry-Based Learning is highlighted in Table 2, which highlights student’s satisfaction with access to reliable information derived from the construction of each narrative, as presented by their perceptions. Therefore, the opportunity for reflection and critical thinking provided by the construction of the WRP is strategically enriching, as it allows future health professionals to become more engaged and committed to the principles and guidelines of the SUS, especially a humanistic and empathetic education.

In this regard, Fini²⁶ corroborates this by stating that one of the greatest challenges in higher education is training professionals capable of facing change, as this requires a continuous capacity for adaptation and improvement. This confirms that professional training must be grounded and guided by a liberating methodology rather than methods that rely on memorization. The path taken by students is often not easy; there are moments of weakness that are overcome as the group/individual evolves in their teaching-learning process through constant, immediate feedback from professors.

In accordance with the NCG, the results of this study pointed to the exercise of analytical, synthesizing, and reasoning skills, essential for the development of critical-reflective thinking. According to Freire:

[…] for a school to be democratic, it is necessary that, while teaching content, it also teaches correct thinking, an active methodology that drives learning as a process of overcoming challenges, problem-solving, and the construction of new knowledge provided by each individual’s previous experiences³⁰. (p. 24)

This coincides with the results of this study, as it is experienced by each student who constructs the WRP.

In a society that is rapidly advancing in the scientific and technological fields, knowledge becomes outdated very quickly. What allows us to adapt to the constant evolution of knowledge is not the quantity of knowledge, but the very capacity for learning, ongoing self-development, and the adaptation of new knowledge. This means committing students and teachers to a radically different educational dynamic, the opposite of the values and ideology of traditional teaching and learning systems³⁰. (p. 17)

In this context, the findings of this study emphasize that students were able to identify in practice the applicability of learning, identified the importance of public policies for their training as health professionals, significantly exercised the “Learning to Learn” pillar of education and exercised in an empowered and constant way the evolution of critical-reflective thinking¹⁸^,²¹.

As a limitation of the study, we point out the fact that the curriculum and curriculum framework are traditionally based. Therefore, when implementing an active method within a traditional context, some difficulties may arise related to student’s actual use of the construction process. We emphasize the importance of teacher training and curriculum renewal, aiming to adapt content and practical activities to the time students have to dedicate to reflective and creative activities, such as those provided by the WRP. As a strength of the study, we highlight the opportunity for students to work in interprofessional teams and the better use and exploration of student-student and student-teacher relationships. This reveals important aspects in students for 21st-century citizenship development, in line with the NCG.

Conclusion

The implementation of the WRP for undergraduate students as designed in this study, with scientific rigor and planning of what students should do inside and outside the classroom, reinforced by the student guide and specific feedback, assessment, and self-assessment tools, fostered the development of inquiry-based learning. The results showed that the WRP also fostered the exercise of critical, creative, and caring thinking.

Therefore, given the demands of training students committed to the innovation needs of the 21st century, investing in studies and research related to active teaching, learning, and assessment methods, such as the WRP, with an emphasis on the training of future healthcare professionals committed to the SUS, is in line with the NCG and should be encouraged.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the project team of which this article is part, which is part of the University Teaching Innovation Program (PRODUS) and the Laboratory for Studies in Health Planning and Management (LabPlanGest) at the Federal University of Viçosa. We would also like to thank the funding agency that supported the researchers.

Silva ACS, Ferreira ES, Cotta RMM. Reflective web-portfolio and the development of learning through investigation: the innovation of innovation. Interface (Botucatu). 2025; 29: e250491 https://doi.org/10.1590/interface.250491
Funding
This research is unfunded. Author ESF received funding from a doctoral fellowship from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

Data Availability

The contents underlying the research text are included in the manuscript.

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» https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320182311.27072015
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²⁰ Karpicke JD. Retrieval-based learning: active retrieval promotes meaningful learning. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2014; 21(3):157-63.
²¹ Cotta RMM, Costa GD, Mendonça ET. Portfólio reflexivo: uma proposta de ensino e aprendizagem orientada por competências. Cienc Saude Colet. 2013; 18(6):1847-56.
²² Gonçalves AG, Ferreira ES, Moreira TR, Costa GD, Heeneman S, Cotta RMM. Health profession students value active teaching, learning and assessment methods for the learning of complex academic skills. Soc Innov J. 2021; 9:1-20.
²³ Fida NM, Hassanien M, Shamim MS, Alafari R, Zaini R, Mufti S, et al. Students’ perception of portfolio as a learning tool at King Abdulaziz University Medical School. Med Teach. 2018; 40 Supl 1:S104-13. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2018.1466054.
» https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2018.1466054
²⁴ Colares KTP, Oliveira W. Metodologias ativas de formação profissional em saúde: uma revisão. Sustinere. 2019; 6:300-20. doi: 10.12957/sustinere.2018.36910.
» https://doi.org/10.12957/sustinere.2018.36910
²⁵ Nalom DMF, Ghezzi JFSA, Higa EFR, Peres CRFB, Marin MJS. Ensino em saúde: aprendizagem a partir da prática profissional. Cienc Saude Colet. 2019; 24:1699-708. doi: 10.1590/1413-81232018245.04412019.
» https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232018245.04412019
²⁶ Fini MI. Inovações no ensino superior: metodologias inovadoras de aprendizagem e suas relações com o mundo do trabalho: desafios para a transformação de uma cultura. Rev Sustinere. 2018; 19(1):176-83.
²⁷ Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde. Atención primaria de salud [Internet]. Washington, DC: Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde; 2024 [citado 30 Ago 2024]. Disponível em: https://www.paho.org/pt/topicos/atencao-primaria-saude
» https://www.paho.org/pt/topicos/atencao-primaria-saude
²⁸ Cotta RMM, Campos AAO, Mendonça ET, Costa GD, Machado JC, Silva LS, et al. Políticas de saúde: desenhos, modelos e paradigmas. Viçosa: Editora UFV/Abrasco; 2013.
²⁹ Bauer C, Severino AJ. Editorial: políticas curriculares. Das discussões sobre a construção da Base Nacional Comum Curricular da Educação Básica (BNCC). EccoS. 2016; 41:11-3. doi: 10.5585/eccos.n41.7016.
» https://doi.org/10.5585/eccos.n41.7016
³⁰ Freire P. Pedagogia da autonomia: saberes necessários à prática educativa. São Paulo: Paz e Terra; 2013.

Edited by

Editor
Pedro José Santos Carneiro Cruz https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0610-3273

Associated editor
Franklin Delano Soares Forte https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4237-0184

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
31 Oct 2025
Date of issue
2025

History

Received
22 Aug 2024
Accepted
11 July 2025

Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto (Open Access) sob a licença Creative Commons Attribution, que permite uso, distribuição e reprodução em qualquer meio, sem restrições desde que o trabalho original seja corretamente citado.

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[2] ² Ferreira ES, Santos KP, Costa GD, Moreira TR, Borges LD, Dias HH, et al. Evidence of the effectiveness of teaching and learning active methods in health courses: systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc Innov J. 2022; 12(2):1-14.

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[8] ⁸ Brasil. Conselho Nacional de Saúde. Resolução nº 569, de 8 de Dezembro de 2017. Dispõe sobre a regulamentação do exercício profissional na área de saúde. Brasília, DF: Conselho Nacional de Saúde; 2017.

[9] ⁹ Mesquita SKC, Meneses RMV, Ramos DKR. Metodologias ativas de ensino/aprendizagem: dificuldades de docentes de um curso de enfermagem. Trab Educ Saude. 2016; 14(2):473-86. doi: 10.1590/1981-7746-sip00114.
» https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-7746-sip00114

[10] ¹⁰ Cotta RMM, Costa GD, Mendonça ET. Portfólios crítico-reflexivos: uma proposta pedagógica centrada nas competências cognitivas e metacognitivas. Interface (Botucatu). 2015; 19(54):573-88. doi: 10.1590/1807-57622014.0399.
» https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-57622014.0399

[11] ¹¹ Beber B, Silva E, Bonfiglio SU. Metacognição como processo da aprendizagem. Rev Psicopedag. 2014; 31(95):144-51.

[12] ¹² Parmelee D, Roman B, Overman I, Alizadeh M. The lecture-free curriculum: setting the stage for life-long learning - AMEE Guide nº 135. Med Teach. 2020; 42(9):962-9.

[13] ¹³ Roget AD, Serés VG. Práctica reflexiva: bases, modelos y instrumentos. Madrid: Narcea; 2014.

[14] ¹⁴ Sá-Chaves I. Portfólios reflexivos: estratégia de formação e de supervisão. Aveiro: Universidade de Aveiro; 2000.

[15] ¹⁵ Organização das Nações Unidas para a Educação, a Ciência e a Cultura. Educação para o desenvolvimento sustentável: objetivos, estratégias e recomendações. Paris: Unesco; 2005.

[16] ¹⁶ Sá-Silva JR, Almeida CD, Guindani JF. Pesquisa documental: pistas teóricas e metodológicas. Rev Bras Hist Cienc Soc. 2009; 1(1):1-15.

[17] ¹⁷ Cotta RMM, Costa GD. Instrumento de avaliação e autoavaliação do portfólio reflexivo: uma construção teórico-conceitual. Interface (Botucatu). 2016; 20(56):171-83. doi: 10.1590/1807-57622014.1303.
» https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-57622014.1303

[18] ¹⁸ Costa GD, Driessen E, Silva LS, Campos AAO, Costa TMT, Donateli CP, et al. Portfólio coletivo: avaliação do ensino e da aprendizagem nos cursos de graduação da área da saúde. Cienc Saude Colet. 2018; 23:3779-87. doi: 10.1590/1413-812320182311.27072015.
» https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320182311.27072015

[19] ¹⁹ Assis A, Cotta RMM, Figueiredo A, Silva S. Varal da Saúde Mental e Rodas de Diálogo: técnicas e métodos ativos na investigação qualitativa em saúde e educação. In: Anais do 13o Congreso Iberoamericano de Investigación Cualitativa; 2024; Campinas (SP). Campinas: Galoá; 2024.

[20] ²⁰ Karpicke JD. Retrieval-based learning: active retrieval promotes meaningful learning. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2014; 21(3):157-63.

[21] ²¹ Cotta RMM, Costa GD, Mendonça ET. Portfólio reflexivo: uma proposta de ensino e aprendizagem orientada por competências. Cienc Saude Colet. 2013; 18(6):1847-56.

[22] ²² Gonçalves AG, Ferreira ES, Moreira TR, Costa GD, Heeneman S, Cotta RMM. Health profession students value active teaching, learning and assessment methods for the learning of complex academic skills. Soc Innov J. 2021; 9:1-20.

[23] ²³ Fida NM, Hassanien M, Shamim MS, Alafari R, Zaini R, Mufti S, et al. Students’ perception of portfolio as a learning tool at King Abdulaziz University Medical School. Med Teach. 2018; 40 Supl 1:S104-13. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2018.1466054.
» https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2018.1466054

[24] ²⁴ Colares KTP, Oliveira W. Metodologias ativas de formação profissional em saúde: uma revisão. Sustinere. 2019; 6:300-20. doi: 10.12957/sustinere.2018.36910.
» https://doi.org/10.12957/sustinere.2018.36910

[25] ²⁵ Nalom DMF, Ghezzi JFSA, Higa EFR, Peres CRFB, Marin MJS. Ensino em saúde: aprendizagem a partir da prática profissional. Cienc Saude Colet. 2019; 24:1699-708. doi: 10.1590/1413-81232018245.04412019.
» https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232018245.04412019

[26] ²⁶ Fini MI. Inovações no ensino superior: metodologias inovadoras de aprendizagem e suas relações com o mundo do trabalho: desafios para a transformação de uma cultura. Rev Sustinere. 2018; 19(1):176-83.

[27] ²⁷ Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde. Atención primaria de salud [Internet]. Washington, DC: Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde; 2024 [citado 30 Ago 2024]. Disponível em: https://www.paho.org/pt/topicos/atencao-primaria-saude
» https://www.paho.org/pt/topicos/atencao-primaria-saude

[28] ²⁸ Cotta RMM, Campos AAO, Mendonça ET, Costa GD, Machado JC, Silva LS, et al. Políticas de saúde: desenhos, modelos e paradigmas. Viçosa: Editora UFV/Abrasco; 2013.

[29] ²⁹ Bauer C, Severino AJ. Editorial: políticas curriculares. Das discussões sobre a construção da Base Nacional Comum Curricular da Educação Básica (BNCC). EccoS. 2016; 41:11-3. doi: 10.5585/eccos.n41.7016.
» https://doi.org/10.5585/eccos.n41.7016

[30] ³⁰ Freire P. Pedagogia da autonomia: saberes necessários à prática educativa. São Paulo: Paz e Terra; 2013.

	WRP	Initial concept	Final concept
Remote period	WRP 1	“A tool with a holistic and empowering vision, enabling Meaningful Learning with the support of constant feedback, an active methodology that encourages leadership in the teaching-learning process.”	“Active and meaningful learning is an active and innovative teaching method. Today, at the end of this journey, we affirm the initial concept, which leads us to the development of professional, academic, individual, and collective skills.”
	WRP 2	“Active teaching-learning process, based on dialogic communication, development of knowledge, skills and attitudes, favoring cooperation, social interaction and constant feedback between teacher-student and student-student”.	“It allowed us to discover new skills such as writing, communication, creativity, autonomy, dynamism, self-assessment and critical thinking, in addition to being efficient in the way we teach, learn and assess.”
	WRP 3	“The Reflective Portfolio is a dynamic and active teaching-learning method that focuses on the skills of learning to be, know, do, and coexist. [...] It consists of a compilation of activities carried out by students with records, summaries, reports, and documentation that allow for the visualization of the knowledge developed [...].	“WRP [...] provides a new perspective on teamwork, promoting the discussion of current issues and encouraging the pursuit of knowledge, based on the development of scientifically supported debates.”
In-person period	WRP 1	“Active Methodology with a collection of works to improve skills such as autonomy, critical thinking and ethics.”	“Active Methodology that allowed the development of characteristics such as autonomy, originality, argumentation, critical and reflective thinking, development of speech and writing and freedom of expression”.
	WRP 2	“An active methodology that relies on teacher-student interaction, the exploration of personal experiences, and teamwork marked by the encouragement of interpersonal relationships and student empowerment. Knowledge is also constructed through competencies and formative assessment, fostering the development of attitudes and skills. Furthermore, this concept emphasizes the fact that WRP is a systematic and continuous reflective process.”	“A relevant point highlighted is the ability to research while understanding the veracity of references, practicing Delors’ four pillars of education: learning to know, learning to be, learning to do, learning to live together, all of which culminate in the development of skills.”
	WRP3	“Reflective Portfolio” is an extensive and continuous text, based on references from scientific literature.	“Our group developed, mainly, the following characteristics: creativity, interpersonal relationships, critical sense, argumentation, understanding of the indispensable role of the SUS, ability to summarize and manage time, responsibility, closeness, search for reliable and updated sources and broadening of the perspective to different realities.”

WRP	Aspects	Module 1	Module 2	Module 3	Module 4
Remote period	Weaknesses	“Difficulties in finding information and synthesize the large amount of information for the construction of summaries individual and reflective.” -WRP 12.	“Shorter time available for the construction of this module and lots of information to synthesize in only six pages.” -WRP 17.	“Difficulty of synthesize in an objective, concise and reflective way all contente learned.” -WRP 12.	“They weren’t identified weaknesses in this module.” -WRP 2.
Remote period	Potentialities	“Obtaining new knowledge, experience of know the health systems of several countries, Brazil and work in team.” -WRP 21.	“Contextualization with politics current in Brazil, acquisition of new knowledge, and greater ease of construction in relation to the previous module.” -WRP 21.	“Contextualization with the themes and films presented during the discipline, reflection on what was learned and sharing of ideas.” -WRP 7.	“See the personal evolution of each one of the members and group, reflection about the learning in construction of each module.” -WRP 2.
In-person period	Weaknesses	“Few formal meetings and difficulty in synthesizing the main points due to the amount of information.” -WRP 27.	“Shorter time for the construction of narratives and difficulty in reconciling them with activities from other disciplines” -WRP 32.	“Reconcile the construction of the WRP with the end-of-term exams and difficulty of unify the narratives individual.” -WRP 33.	“Realization of some activities of individual form due to the short time for realization of last two modules.” -WRP 29.
In-person period	Potentialities	“Integration with people from different fields, the possibility of researching different sources, developing critical thinking, practicing empathy, and creating new bonds.” -WRP 30.	“Bigger familiarity with the work, greater integration and participation of team.” -WRP 37.	“Contextualization of the discipline with films, which contributes to the construction of narratives.” -WRP 45.	“Team commitment to delivering tasks, conflict-free meetings, organization, creativity, distribution of responsibilities, attitude, authority, fulfillment of roles. -WRP 47.