Abstract:

Introduction:
Teaching innovation in Higher Education is an effective tool to acquire and strengthen knowledge, and motivate the student, being this latter especially relevant in times of uncertainty and social distancing. In the Physiology department of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Seville, a Teaching Innovation Project (of III Plan Propio de Docencia) has been carried out. This project consisted in performing a "graphical abstract" or graphic summary of one of the most relevant topics of the subjects involved before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the study is to analyze the results of this activity on the performance and motivation of students before and during the pandemic, in order to evaluate it as an effective tool in times of crisis.

Methodology:
The voluntary activity was proposed to all students enrolled in one of the 4 subjects of the first semester and/or of the 2 subsects of the second semester taught by the Department of Physiology in Faculty of Pharmacy during the 2019-2020 course. The activity was carried out in 4 subjects of the first semester and 2 subjects of the second. The students, who were in the first, second, or third years in the Degree of Pharmacy, the Degree of Optics and Optometry, or the Double Degree of Pharmacy, Optics, and Optometry, had also to complete a survey evaluating this activity.

Results:
Voluntary activity has been followed by students especially during the second semester, coinciding with the pandemic (32% versus 20% in the first semester). In this second semester, the proposed activity was more valued than the one in the previous semester (67 vs 53%). Students believe that performing "graphical abstract" during the pandemic encourages attendance and the follow-up of virtual classes (42 vs 28%), and helps them better understand the subject (73 vs 63%) improving the acquisition of cross-cutting skills, which also increases the quality of education (68 vs 53%). However, there are no differences throughout the course in the evaluation of the difficulty of the activity, considering that the information provided for its elaboration is sufficient (44 vs 46%). In both semesters, the proposed activity increased the motivation of students for the subject and fostered the student-teacher contact especially important in times of "non-presence" (about 40% in both semesters).

Conclusion:
The realization of the "graphical abstract" has been satisfactorily valued throughout the course, and especially during the pandemic, when students are more receptive to innovation activities that encourage the feed-back student-teacher, motivating them from a distance. The proposed activity is an effective teaching tool during periods of distancing.

Keywords:

Teaching innovation, pandemic, covid-19, graphical abstract, activity.