World Café: teaching strategy that enables communication and the collective construction of knowledge

ABSTRACT Introduction: Training competent professionals who reflect on their actions and engage with their context also implies training teachers who understand their role as facilitators and enable students to take the lead in the teaching-learning process. Experience report: Considering the importance of faculty development programs, the Brazilian Association of Medical Education, through its Minas Gerais Regional Branch, created in 2020 the project “From Minas to Minas: a chat about medical education,” aiming to value all students and faculty members of the 47 medical schools in Minas Gerais, both public and private, by raising common areas of interest across all training spaces. In 2023, an event was held with a central focus on student assessment, utilizing a pedagogical strategy that facilitated knowledge sharing through collective and collaborative dialogue, known as the ‘World Café’. The goal of the World Café discussions is to spark conversations where participants feel comfortable sharing and listening, allowing the spontaneous pollination of ideas and meanings. This report aims to describe and reflect on the World Café strategy, which included 30 (thirty) faculty members, 3 (three) students, and 1 (one) resident from six medical schools in the Minas Regional Branch. Discussion: The seven steps of the strategy were used: clarifying the context, creating a welcoming space, addressing important issues, encouraging contributions and engagement from all participants, connecting diverse perspectives, active and qualified listening, and sharing collective discoveries. In the end, 100% of the participants felt engaged in the activity and peer dialogue, and 95% stated that the workshop was enjoyable, allowing them to bring up prior knowledge and new perspectives on student assessment. Conclusion: The World Café was widely accepted as an active, learner-centered methodology that fosters the creative use of social and communication technologies, for effectively thinking and acting together in education and health. Designed for large groups, the strategy can be applied in undergraduate and graduate programs, faculty development programs, continuing and permanent education, and allows the proactive handling of critical issues and questions, simultaneously involving various participants, including faculty, managers, students, service workers, and communities.