Introduction.

The opinions of participants are a key element in the processes of evaluating the effect of educative innovation. This paper describes the perceptions of students and teachers about the usefulness of problem-based learning for the acquisition of competencies.

Subjects and methods.

This survey was carried out in the Bachelor of Biology to assess the project of partial implementation of problem-based learning as a teaching method. Information was collected during six cohorts using a questionnaire with several questions about the perceptions on the acquisition of scientific competence and generic competences, the didactic usefulness of the method, and the satisfaction with the experience by means of a numerical scale from 0 to 10. An open question to suggest improvements was also included.

Results.

The perception on the acquisition of scientific competence slightly increased during the years of the Bachelor. No differences were observed between students and tutors, with mean values close to 7. In generic competences, the mean value was similar but tutors scored higher than students. Regarding the question of the usefulness of the method, mean values of students were in the range of 5.5-6 and tutors again scored higher (range: 7.3-8). When satisfaction was evaluated, students scored a mean value of 6 whereas tutors scores were significantly higher.

Conclusions.

The introduction of problem-based learning was considered positive by students, and especially by tutors, as a method to acquire scientific and generic competences.

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