The Visual Practice: the Infographic as a Facilitating Tool for Learning in Medical School

Abstract: Introduction: In the context of medical school, the development of methodologies that stimulate the students’ search for learning, autonomy and creativity are essential for medical education in Brazil. The study aims to describe the construction of infographics as a pedagogical proposal for the learning of organic human aging processes by medical students. Method: Medical students attending the 4th period at a Higher Education Institution built infographics, as a requirement for the practical content of the Aging Process module. The static-type infographic was adopted, following criteria such as the definition of the target audience; definition of the objective; choice of topic; selection of the most relevant information (focus); direct and accessible language; organized information; choices of color palettes and style and; infographic sketch. The entire creation process was supervised by the teacher in charge of the project, and evaluation criteria were previously established. Results: The class was divided into seven groups, resulting in the production of an infographic with a specific topic per group. The human aging topics were: Degenerative Joint Diseases, Bone Weakness, Pneumonia in the Elderly, Acute Myocardial Infarction, Vascular Dementia, Atherosclerosis and Herpes Zoster. It is worth noting that in addition to the creation, each group presented the final product to the other colleagues, explaining each item included in the static infographic. Conclusions: We observed that the students satisfactorily met the proposed evaluation requirements, demonstrating their involvement in the construction of infographics and, above all, in simple, creative and objective learning, using a powerful visual tool. We also add that the printed material will be used as aid in the histology laboratory and in extramural activities.