Abstract:

In the context of the accelerated change in society, globalization and the growing importance of knowledge as a factor of socioeconomic development, today, society demands that the University, in addition to instruct students with modern knowledge, equips them with skills and specific competencies to actively participate in the change process. Therefore, our graduates must possess the necessary skills to keep their knowledge updated throughout the course of their professional activity.

Currently, the European Higher Education Area [1] proposes a model in which the professor is also a promoter and facilitator of the students work, supported by active methods as an integrating core of teaching against the traditional master lesson.
In this sense, the "case study" [2,3] becomes a fundamental tool for the university lecturer, where the narration of a real or imaginary but believable situation gives the students the opportunity of applying their knowledge in the analysis, reflection and discussion of the described events and, in addition, the study and proposition of alternatives to the decisions or solutions that were taken in that situation. This method is often used in postgraduate degrees, where the study of real and complex situations reinforces concepts and provides experience. In this paper, our team of lecturers tries to bring this methodology closer to university undergraduate education, where its use is less widespread. In this way, the application of the "case study", both divergent and convergent, in the subject of Medicinal Chemistry I of the Degree in Pharmacy is proposed, and in this way, the proposition of different cases provides the student many opportunities of reflection, dialogue and acquisition of different solutions and, therefore, more and better knowledge in the matter.

References:
[1] http://www.ehea.info
[2] Merriam, Shara B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.
[3] Yin, Robert K. (1994). Case Study Research. Design and Methods. London: SAGE, 1994.

Keywords:

Case-Based Teaching, Medicinal Chemistry, European Higher Education Area (EHEA).