Abstract:

This study examines the impact of the "Teaching Practice" course on the pedagogical training of Master's and Doctoral students in Management, within the context of contemporary challenges in higher education. The course aims to strengthen students' pedagogical capital by articulating a dialectical relationship between theoretical frameworks and experimental praxis. The curriculum is structured into three formative units: the first problematizes the ontology of the teaching role and knowledge mediation processes; the second addresses the foundational elements of teaching practice, including curricular theory, instructional design, and learning assessment; the third emphasizes the pragmatic dimension through the implementation of active learning methodologies and innovative didactic strategies.

Conducted since 2013 within the Graduate Programs in Management and Public Management at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), Brazil, the course has reached 449 students across 24 cohorts. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative interpretative approach, analyzing a corpus of 100 reflective narratives authored as final capstone assignments by students who subsequently entered academic careers. Based on a structured reflective writing guide, two core analytical dimensions were identified:
(i) the ontological perception of "being a teacher" and
(ii) the influence of active methodologies on professional development.

Findings demonstrate a significant semantic reconfiguration of teaching conceptions; participants transitioned from a technical-instrumental view toward a perspective of teaching as a relational, ethical, and socially committed process. Consequently, the teacher emerges as a mediator and mentor within a framework of educational co-responsibility. Furthermore, methodological experimentation catalyzed the development of transversal competencies in communication, synthesis, and pedagogical creativity. The study concludes that the course functions as a "pedagogical laboratory" and an experiential formative space capable of transforming theory into reflective practice. These results reinforce the need for institutionalized systematic pedagogical training within graduate programs traditionally focused on technical research.

Keywords:

Teacher training, active learning, pedagogical laboratory, reflective narratives, higher education.