Objectives: 

In the Bologna process many researchers have focused on creating new assessment for conceptual understanding for specific sub disciplines of biomedical sciences. In particular there is a separate need to measure students' approaches to problem solving and understanding of the nature of physiology as a scientific discipline.

Materials: 

We propose the use of a questionnaire: The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS), which was originally designed in the Department of Physics (University of Colorado) to measure various facets of student attitudes and beliefs about learning physics. CLASS has been developed to compare novice and expert perceptions about the content and structure of a specific discipline, the source of knowledge about a scientific discipline, for instance Physiology, to real word and problem-solving approaches. Later on different modules about Biology and Chemistry were included. We are trying to adapt this instrument that consists in a short survey with questions that was distributed in the classroom at the beginning and at the end of a physiology course. Students were informed that surveys were voluntary. It was emphasized that students did not have to answer questions if they did not know the answer.

Results: 

We hope that when results of this study are interpreted in light of possible effects of this Bologna new approach on student learning in the test group, it appears that the modified instruction may be more effective than the traditional instruction.

Conclusions: 

It seems clear that there is a pressing need to re-think the traditional approach to physiology teaching in Spain higher education.