WHAT HELPS YOU TO LEARN? INSIGHTS FROM UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND FEEDBACK FROM NEUROSCIENCE

Declarative or explicit learning depends on several components that can be modified to achieve better learning habits and outcomes.The aim of this work was to analyze the learning strategies of Health Sciences university students and give them neuroscience-based feedback about their possibilities of improvement.Participants were students from four classes (Medicine, and Nutrition and Dietetics, years 2023-24 and 2024-25) who were following the subject "Nervous system physiology".First, the students were invited to reflect on their learning strategies with the question "What helps you to learn or to study?", through the interactive tool Wooclap.Their contributions were displayed as a dynamic word cloud in class.Next, the teacher provided scientific feedback, explaining briefly the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying their answers, and included further relevant items if they had not been mentioned.In the second phase, outside of class, the students' answers were distributed in six pre-determined categories and analyzed.163 answers were obtained, which corresponded to 27 items distributed in 4 categories: student involvement, organization and study tools, deep learning and teacher work.Two further categories (concept association and students health) were scarcely mentioned.Differences between classes were detected.For example, Nutrition and Dietetics students provided more answers in the category "student involvement" than medical students, while medical students reported a higher use of technology tools devoted to time management, artificial intelligence and flashcard preparation.This work could help to improve the students learning process, to adapt feedback to the characteristics of each class, to help determine the teachers pedagogical methodology and to introduce active learning methodologies.