Helena Santos Silva

Helena Santos Silva serves as Associate Professor at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) since 2001 and as Researcher at CIIE - Centre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto since 2013. Her academic career spans over two decades in Portuguese higher education with dual institutional affiliations.

Her research focuses on Critical Thinking, Cooperative Learning, and Formative Assessment across educational contexts. Key interests include pedagogical supervision methodologies, learning communities development, and dispositional analysis of critical thinking. Her work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical classroom applications, particularly examining how cooperative structures enhance metacognitive and creative skills.

Analysis of recent publications reveals consistent focus on cross-disciplinary critical thinking assessment, with growing emphasis on digital learning environments (2021-2025). Her research spans engineering, nursing, mathematics, and language education, demonstrating methodological rigor through psychometric validation studies and longitudinal designs. Notable contributions include validated scales for cooperative learning and critical thinking dispositions.

She leads significant grant projects including FCT-funded Pensamento crítico em rede no ensino superior (Critical thinking in higher education network), focusing on teaching innovation dissemination across Portuguese higher education institutions.

Her academic leadership manifests through extensive publication output including books like Aprendizagem Cooperativa na sala de aula. Um guia Prático para o Professor (2nd ed.) and patent development for critical thinking assessment instruments (Teste de Pensamento Crítico e Criativo - TPCC).