The role of peer meetings for professional development in health science education: a qualitative analysis of reflective essays

Introduction The development of professional behaviour is an important objective for students in Health Sciences, with reflective skills being a basic condition for this development. Literature describes a variety of methods giving students opportunities and encouragement for reflection. Although the literature states that learning and working together in peer meetings fosters reflection, these findings are based on experienced professionals. We do not know whether participation in peer meetings also makes a positive contribution to the learning experiences of undergraduate students in terms of reflection. Aim The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the role of peer meetings in students’ learning experiences regarding reflection. Method A phenomenographic qualitative study was undertaken. Students’ learning experiences in peer meetings were analyzed by investigating the learning reports in students’ portfolios. Data were coded using open coding. Results The results indicate that peer meetings created an interactive learning environment in which students learned about themselves, their skills and their abilities as novice professionals. Students also mentioned conditions for a well-functioning group. Conclusion The findings indicate that peer meetings foster the development of reflection skills as part of professional behaviour

Teachers as Educational Innovators in Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Learning

This chapter describes inquiry-based science teaching and learning (IBST/L) pilots designed by teachers during a professional development programme. There is research-based evidence that IBSL/T may promote students’ learning and their motivation to learn science, and therefore it is beneficial to familiarise the teachers with this approach. Building on teachers’ existing expertise in designing their teaching, the programme introduced theoretical aspects of the IBST/L approach and its research-based benefits for students’ motivation, interest and science learning. The course aimed to support teachers as educational innovators in the process of designing and testing IBST/L pilots, during which they collaboratively reflected on and revised their existing practices. The data of this piece of research consists of the teachers’ poster presentations of their IBST/L pilots and a video recording of the reflection session. The content analysis revealed that the pilots’ structure seemed traditional but encompassed some IBST/L features. It is concluded that teacher educators need to understand teachers’ views of IBST/L in order to more effectively support planning and reflection.This chapter describes inquiry-based science teaching and learning (IBST/L) pilots designed by teachers during a professional development programme. There is research-based evidence that IBSL/T may promote students’ learning and their motivation to learn science, and therefore it is beneficial to familiarise the teachers with this approach. Building on teachers’ existing expertise in designing their teaching, the programme introduced theoretical aspects of the IBST/L approach and its research-based benefits for students’ motivation, interest and science learning. The course aimed to support teachers as educational innovators in the process of designing and testing IBST/L pilots, during which they collaboratively reflected on and revised their existing practices. The data of this piece of research consists of the teachers’ poster presentations of their IBST/L pilots and a video recording of the reflection session. The content analysis revealed that the pilots’ structure seemed traditional but encompassed some IBST/L features. It is concluded that teacher educators need to understand teachers’ views of IBST/L in order to more effectively support planning and reflection.Peer reviewe

The portfolio as a tool for stimulating reflection by student teachers

This article reports on a research project that studied the nature of reflection in the portfolios of student teachers: 39 learning portfolios were analysed. Current theories on reflection offered little on which to base a system of categories for analysing the content of the portfolios. Theory on learning activities was used. We found that the student teachers tended to focus in their portfolios on their own practice and how to improve it. They examined what they had done and learned, in what aspects they had made progress, and they formulated plans for the future. When looking back on their development as teachers, the students discussed individual experiences which had been important to them, as well as making connections between different experiences over a period of time. The student teachers made less use of the portfolios to gain a better understanding of situations and developments that had occurred. Supervision and guidance on the production of portfolios seemed to be essential to encourage this activity

Functions of the learning portfolio in student teachers' learning process

In this study, we aimed to develop a framework that could be used to describe the value of the learning portfolio for the learning process of individual student teachers. Retrospective interviews with 21 student teachers were used, as were their portfolio-evaluation reports on their experiences Of working on a portfolio. Seven functions of the learning portfolio in the student teachers' learning process emerged from the data. It was possible to distinguish between product and process functions: with product functions, the production of a portfolio was seen as working on a tangible end product; with process junctions, it was the interplay between reflecting on the learning process and the learning process itself that was the key. Two subgroups of process functions of the learning portfolio were also distinguished, based on the type of learning they facilitated. Different views were expressed by the student teachers about the value of the portfolio, and it seems worthwhile to take these differences into account by making more diverse use of portfolios in teacher-education courses