Journal Staff

Upprinnelsen till den rapport som du nu har i din hand är att det under några år har hållits en intern universitetspedagogisk konferens vid Linköpings universitet. Syftet med konferenserna har varit att stimulera universitetets lärare att skriva om sina pedagogiska erfarenheter och tankar. Ett antal utbildningar inom universitetet använder PBL och flera bidrag som diskuterar och belyser PBL har presenterats. Dessa har kommit att bli viktiga i den fortsatta utvecklingen av PBL. Nu har vissa av de tidigare rapporterna tagit slut och det har uppstått behov av att trycka dessa igen och då gärna i en samlad rapport. Den rapport som nu kommit till består alltså till stor del av tidigare presenterade bidrag. Rapporten har kompletterats med ett nyskrivet bidrag av Charlotte Silén och två bidrag som Charlotte skrivit i samband med forskarutbildningskurser. I rapporten finns också ett bidrag som  presenterats av Karin von Shilling på en PBL konferens 1995. Med denna design hoppas vi att rapporten ska kunna bli intressant både för den som vill skaffa sig en introduktion och för den som har erfarenheter av PBL och som vill skaffa sig idéer och perspektiv

Children's Experiences of Living With Asthma: Fear of Exacerbations and Being Ostracized

This is the postprint version of the article. The published version of the article can be located here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882596310001569The aim was to explore children’s experiences of asthma in order to tailor a learning program based on their perspectives. Fifteen children (7 -10 yrs) were interviewed and they narrated about their drawings; a phenomenological and hermeneutical approach was used in the analysis. The findings are described in two themes with five subthemes: fear of exacerbation (bodily sensations, frightening experiences, loss of control) and fear of being ostracized (experiences of being excluded, dilemma of keeping the asthma secret or being open about). Drawings, as applied in the present study, are a good tool for initiating a dialogue with children

The Practice of Thresholds: Autonomy in Clinical Education Explored Through Variation Theory and the Threshold Concepts Framework

This paper demonstrates a practical dimension to the discussion about threshold concepts. Threshold concepts have thus far mostly been acknowledged to elucidate learning processes mainly connected to theoretical concepts. By exploring situations that prompted experiences of autonomy and authenticity in clinical learning, findings showed how a practical experience could have the same power to transform thinking and identity as theoretical thresholds and serve as a trigger for transformational learning, therefore making the discussion about ‘practical thresholds' or thresholds in practice possible. The present study explores situations that prompted autonomy and authenticity, and offers context for and substance to these situations by adopting variation theory and the threshold concept framework. In order to learn more about situations that prompt experiences of autonomy and authenticity, and create prerequisites for such experiences, this paper examines how students discern and interpret these situations by analysing them through variation theory and the threshold concept framework

Between chaos and cosmos : about responsibility and independence in learning

In this thesis, the aim was to attain a deeper understanding according to the students meaning of learning related to their own responsibility and independence within a framework of an educa¬tional programme. An empirical study with an ethnographic approach was carried out during one term of a nursing programme that uses the PBL-approach. Based on observations, conversations, inter¬views and documents, three narratives were formulated. One describes the phases students experience in the planned curricula. Periods characterised of chaos, uncertainty and a heavy workload, alternate with periods of ‘cosmos’, optimism, curiosity and satisfaction. The second narrative is about students' learning objectives while realising that they have to make choices and decisions on their own to succeed. A dialectic driving force emerging from frustration and stimulation, chaos and cosmos, results in questions about what to learn and how to act. The third narrative describes how students handle these questions. The narratives reveal two dimensions. One concerns how the students form attitudes about the relevance of learning objectives and how they go about learning a knowledge base necessary for their future profession. The other dimension takes as its starting point the fact that students try to manage their learning situation taking into consideration the framework of the educa¬tional programme. These dimensions were further analysed using theoretical references. The first dimension was analysed from the perspective of teacher/learner control and a didactic analysis of the meaning of an educational setting. The second dimension was analysed on the basis of phenomenographic learning theory. As regards responsibility and independence there seems to be a point in abandoning the concept of self-directed learning. Instead of emphasising self, the interaction between people, the individual and the educational framework and the interaction with content, are found to be fundamental. This interaction includes communication, dialogue and active participation in all the parts of a learning situation. Based on the results of this study, I claim that the driving force in student-centred learning is the dialectic relation between frustration and stimulation, chaos and cosmos. This stimulates the students to engage in the teachers' traditional didactic ques¬tions concerning an educational programme: what are we going to study, how and why, and what are the objectives? The students' conduct as regards independence, vis à vis dependence, are related to a dialectic relationship between the prerequisites provided by the educational frame¬work and the students' interpretation and ability to use them. Expressions of responsibility and independence emerge as choices and decisions concerning the didactic questions, initiative, activity, search for opportunities to reflect and co-operate and self-confidence. The opposite, dependence, is characterised by strategies for “survival”. The students plan their learning situa¬tion so that the examinations and assignments can be successfully tackled, and the learning situation takes on features of a surface approach. I believe that further insights into learning in student-centred education can be found in the two dialectic relationships described above

Training and assessment of technical skill in vascular surgery

Recent media attention on high-profile cases of flawed surgical practice has led to increasing awareness amongst the public and surgical profession of the need for quality control in surgery. Vascular surgery remains a highly technical and unforgiving specialty. These factors together with recent reductions in trainees' work hours have driven surgical educators to develop new methods ofenhancing surgical training and assessing technical perfonnance. Simulation using synthetic models allows for augmentation of training and assessing surgical technique whilst avoiding ethical concerns with animal models and storage and licensing problems associated with cadavers. Hypothesis 1. Vascular surgical training can be enhanced by training on synthetic simulators. 2. Technical skill in vascular surgery can be assessed in a standardised, objective and robust manner with these simulators in an examination setting. Results Three methods were utilised initially, to assess surgical skill: qualitative assessment using rating scales for generic surgical technique (p<O.OOI); quantitative motion analysis using electromagnetic sensors to quantify economy of movement (p<O.OOl); assessment of the surgical end-product (p<O.OOl). Surgical assessment was enhanced by scoring for procedural as well as generic skill and this technique could differentiate between a newly appointed and experienced consultant (p<O.05). The aforementioned techniques were applied before and after workshop training and significant improvements were seen in the generic (p<0.01) as well as procedural skill (p<O.Ol). The end-product improved (p<O.OOl) and operative time was reduced (p<O.05). In an examination setting the models used differentiated between newly appointed and senior consultants (p<O.O 1) and offered a high level of inter-observer reliability (0)0.8). Technical skill did not correlate with the results from an oral examination or log-book training. Conclusion Vascular surgical training can be effectively supplemented by training on simulators. Simulation with the assessment criteria described can be used in a valid and robust examination of technical skill.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Utgångspunkter för basgruppsarbete i PBL

Med tiden har nya idéer om utgångspunkter utvecklats. Både lärare och studenter har upplevt att de fungerar olika bra och diskussioner har förts om vad det är som gör att utgångspunkten är mer eller mindre lyckad. Funderingar som rör innehåll och utformning av utgångspunk-ter väcker genast frågor av mer allmän karaktär avseende PBL. Vad är det som ska uppnås med utgångspunkten? Vilken inriktning i lärandet stimulerar den till och varför? Hur väljer man vilka utgångspunkter som ska användas? Hur hänger utgångspunkterna ihop genom utbild-ningen? I den här skriften har personer med erfarenhet av hur utgångs-punkter skapas och används i olika utbildningar skrivit om sina reflektioner och erfarenheter kring funktion och syfte. Inledningsvis finner du texter som teoretiskt beskriver och resonerar kring utgångspunkternas funktion i utbildningssammanhanget. Därpå följer beskrivningar från olika försök att utveckla utgångspunkter i riktning från det traditionella pappersfallet. Skriften fokuserar således inte de mest traditionella ut-gångspunkterna inom HU, utan visar på möjligheter till vidareutveck-ling och variation. Avslutningsvis finner du studentkommentarer om scenarier vid HU

Texter om PBL : texter, praktik, reflektioner

Upprinnelsen till den rapport som du nu har i din hand är att det under några år har hållits en intern universitetspedagogisk konferens vid Linköpings universitet. Syftet med konferenserna har varit att stimulera universitetets lärare att skriva om sina pedagogiska erfarenheter och tankar. Ett antal utbildningar inom universitetet använder PBL och flera bidrag som diskuterar och belyser PBL har presenterats. Dessa har kommit att bli viktiga i den fortsatta utvecklingen av PBL. Nu har vissa av de tidigare rapporterna tagit slut och det har uppstått behov av att trycka dessa igen och då gärna i en samlad rapport. Den rapport som nu kommit till består alltså till stor del av tidigare presenterade bidrag. Rapporten har kompletterats med ett nyskrivet bidrag av Charlotte Silén och två bidrag som Charlotte skrivit i samband med forskarutbildningskurser. I rapporten finns också ett bidrag som  presenterats av Karin von Shilling på en PBL konferens 1995. Med denna design hoppas vi att rapporten ska kunna bli intressant både för den som vill skaffa sig en introduktion och för den som har erfarenheter av PBL och som vill skaffa sig idéer och perspektiv