Integration of Theory and Practice, 7.5 credits

Bachelor’s degree or vocational degree worth at least 180 higher education credits and at least two years professional experience within medicine, care or behavioural science and/or at least two years teaching experience (at a minimum of upper-secondary level). English-language skills equivalent to English B/English 6 (with a minimum grade of Pass) are also required.

Have completed the courses Scholarship in Medical Education (3ME000).

Course aim
The course aims for the course participants to deepen their knowledge of how individuals process knowledge/ information and construct understanding, develop skills, attitudes and values, when developing professional competence.

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the course participants should be able to
• elaborate on different applications of the concept of integration related to the concept of professional competence within medical education contexts.

• based in different theoretical strands analyse the concepts of meaningful learning and reflection and show understanding of the meaning of these in different pedagogical encounters in medical education.

• problematise and discuss the concepts "understanding", ”transfer of knowledge”, ”transformation of knowledge” and ”clinical reasoning” and be able to apply these concepts in pedagogical encounters in medical education

• collect empirical data related to learning and professional competence by the use of interviews; analyse data and be able to present results clearly.

This course consist of three sections

1. The concept of integration

Different interpretations of the concept of integration will be discussed on the basis of the didactic questions what, how and why. Different perspectives of integration like horisontal versus vertical and inductive versus deductive will be discussed. The concept of integration will be related to different definitions and applications of the concept of professional competence. The concept of professional competence will be further studied and applied within the context of the master students own professional contexts i.e. teaching, clinical work, leadership and/or research.

2. Meaningful learning

The concept of meaningful learning is related to the concept of professional competence, professionalism and related to the concept of ”clinical reasoning”. The meaning of concepts concerning learning processes like “understanding”, ”transfer of knowledge” and ”transformation of knowledge” will be studied. Personal experiences of how learning is perceived and how it is made obvious is discussed with other master students and related to learning theories within the field.

3. The concept of reflection

Within this section the focus is on the concept of reflection as well as the concept of reflective practice. The concepts will be scrutinised in relation to the master students own learning process and compared to fellow students experiences. Finally, the concept of reflection will be related to the concept of integration of theoretical and practical knowledge and to the development of professional competence.

Teaching is based on a problem-oriented and collaborative approach to learning in which forms of work provide opportunities for the student to take active responsibility for their learning. The course is divided into three parts. Interaction between course participants, course director and tutors is mainly carried out via the learning platform PingPong but also other electronic media will be introduced. During the course each course participant will take part in a smaller group led by a tutor. Studies of literature, lectures and group discussions and group assignments will create the basis for the completion of individual assignments to be handed in during the course. The assignments will be reviewed by peers and/ or tutor and thus provide a basis for feedback.

The literature will consist of excerpts from books and articles that are chosen in discussion between course directors and course participants.

Examination
The examination consists of an individual assignment in which the participant analyse the meaning of the concepts of integration and professional competence related to the learning concepts that have been studied in the course. The assignment also includes self- and peer assessment.

All assignments during the course are mandatory. To pass the course each participant should show activity on the learning platform PingPong and follow the agreements made between the course participants and the course leaders. Individual assignments will replace not fulfilled tasks/assignments.

Students who have not passed the regular examination are entitled to participate in five examinations. Students without approved results after three examinations can be offered to retake the course or parts of it once more; subject to availability.

If the student has failed six examinations, no additional examination will be offered.

Submission of a blank examination is regarded as an examination. Examination for which the student registered but not participated in does not count as an examination. Home examination that has been opened via the learning management system counts as an examination session even if the examination is not submitted.

Late submission of examinations are not accepted. Students who have not submitted on time are referred to re-examination.

The course will be closed-down and is given last time VT16. Examination will be provided during a period of one year after a close-down of the course.

Education language: english