Abstract:

Introduction:
Given that Higher Education System must develop different teaching-learning strategies for contributing to improve education quality, university professors should have creativities and institutional support to apply new teaching approaches. Teaching innovation in Higher Education System is a necessary and effective strategy for helping the students to increase their motivation and responsibility. With the financial support of the University of Seville (Apoyo a la Coordinación e Innovación Docente, 2019-2020 ref. 1.2.3 del III Plan Propio de Docencia), the department of Physiology of the Faculty of Pharmacy has carried out a teaching innovation activity called "graphical abstract". The activity consists in the realization of graphic summary on one of the most relevant topics of the six subjects of the area of Physiology. The realization of a “graphical abstract” of the most complex topics of the different subjects allows the student to structure specific information in an active and visual way, and facilitate the learning process. The objective of the study is to analyze the results of this activity in the performance of the students and their acceptance.

Methodology:
The innovation activity was proposed during the 2019-2020 academic year. The participants were students enrolled in one of the 6 subjects imparted by the department of Physiology in the first or second semester. These subjects belong to the Degree of Pharmacy, the Degree of Optics and Optometry, and the Double Degree of Pharmacy, Optics, and Optometry. Students completed a survey to evaluate the innovation activity. All participants received a compensatory score. The three most valued “graphical abstract” by the teachers of each subject obtained an accreditation diploma and a price consisting in computer equipment.

Results:
The teaching innovation activity was voluntarily followed by 25% of the students enrolled in the 6 subjects. The proposed activity was evaluated with great success by most of the students, who also found that the realization of the “graphic summary” promotes the attendance and follow-up of the classes and contribute to the acquisition of transversal competences, fundamentally the capacities for analysis and synthesis, extract the fundamentals and to organize and plan the content. Students value the activity as simple and with many benefits. The students also consider that this teaching innovation activity increased their motivation for the subject and fostered student teacher contact. Moreover, this activity is a very effective tool for the students, and easy for teachers to correct.

Conclusion:
The realization of the "graphical abstract" is an efficient tool (low cost and high benefit) for students and teachers, which favors learning process, motivation, and the teacher-student relationship.

Keywords:

Teaching innovation activity, tool, knowledge, graphical abstract.