Project-Based Learning Guidelines for Health Sciences Students: An Analysis with Data Mining and Qualitative Techniques.

Academic leaders all over the world are encouraging the use of active methodologies in teaching, especially in higher education. The reason for this is that social changes are happening at an ever-increasing rate, and they require students and teachers to develop digital skills. This is especially significant for health sciences degrees, in which future graduates must have effective problem-solving skills. To respond to this challenge, the use of a project-based learning (PBL) methodology, together with various monitoring techniques based on the use of Educational Data Mining (EDM) and mixed methods, will provide teachers with information about the effectiveness of the methodology and guide the implementation of personalized educational responses. This study provides a protocol for the application of the PBL methodology in e-Learning and blended-Learning (b-Learning) teaching modalities for health sciences students studying occupational therapy in higher education. In addition, statistical techniques for the analysis of covariance and unsupervised learning allow differences to be detected between the two teaching modalities, thus specifying their effectiveness in terms of a range of variables related to behavioral patterns, performance, and satisfaction. Data visualization also helps in understanding the qualitative aspects of the learning process. These data will help teachers to produce more effective proposals for the implementation of the PBL methodology based on the based on the context of the teaching-learning process. Therefore, this protocol offers many resources and materials to help teachers implement the PBL methodology in e-Learning and b-Learning teaching methods.

Eye-tracking Technology and Data-mining Techniques used for a Behavioral Analysis of Adults engaged in Learning Processes.

Behavioral analysis of adults engaged in learning tasks is a major challenge in the field of adult education. Nowadays, in a world of continuous technological changes and scientific advances, there is a need for life-long learning and education within both formal and non-formal educational environments. In response to this challenge, the use of eye-tracking technology and data-mining techniques, respectively, for supervised (mainly prediction) and unsupervised (specifically cluster analysis) learning, provide methods for the detection of forms of learning among users and/or the classification of their learning styles. In this study, a protocol is proposed for the study of learning styles among adults with and without previous knowledge at different ages (18 to 69-year-old) and at different points throughout the learning process (start and end). Statistical analysis-of-variance techniques mean that differences may be detected between the participants by type of learner and previous knowledge of the task. Likewise, the use of unsupervised learning clustering techniques throws light on similar forms of learning among the participants across different groups. All these data will facilitate personalized proposals from the teacher for the presentation of each task at different points in the chain of information processing. It will likewise be easier for the teacher to adapt teaching materials to the learning needs of each student or group of students with similar characteristics.