Biomedical subjects

Jan D Vermunt

Publications and source records attributed to Jan D Vermunt.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Conditions for successful reflective use of portfolios in undergraduate medical education.

AIM: Portfolios are often used as an instrument with which to stimulate students to reflect on their experiences. Research has shown that working with portfolios does not automatically stimulate reflection. In this study we addressed the question: What are the conditions for successful reflective use of portfolios in undergraduate medical education? METHODOLOGY/RESEARCH DESIGN: We designed a portfolio that was aimed at stimulating reflection in early undergraduate medical education, using experiences described in the medical education literature and elsewhere. Conditions for reflective portfolio use were identified through interviews with 13 teachers (mentors), who were experienced in mentoring students in the process of developing their portfolios. The interviews were analysed according to the principles of grounded theory. RESULTS: The conditions for successful reflective use of portfolios that emerged from the interviews fell into 4 categories: coaching; portfolio structure and guidelines; relevant experiences and materials, and summative assessment. According to the mentors, working with a portfolio designed to meet these conditions will stimulate students' reflective abilities. CONCLUSION: This study shows that portfolios are a potentially valuable method of assessing and developing students' reflective skills in undergraduate medical training, provided certain conditions for effective portfolios are recognised and met. Portfolios have a strong potential for enhancing learning and assessment but they are very vulnerable and may easily lead to disappointment. Before implementing portfolios in education, one should first consider whether the necessary conditions can be fulfilled, including an appropriate portfolio structure, an appropriate assessment procedure, the provision of enough new experiences and materials, and sufficient teacher capacity for adequate coaching and assessment.

Curriculum↗

PubMed2003

Use of portfolios in early undergraduate medical training.

The ability to reflect on one's own action is seen as an important skill for a doctor. A thorough introduction of the portfolio planned in the early stages of their studies seems to be the way to train medical students in reflection. This article describes the use of portfolios in early undergraduate medical training. The literature on portfolios suggests three aspects that are crucial for the effectiveness of portfolios: structure, coaching and assessment. The portfolio system was designed by transposing the experience with portfolio systems outside and inside medical training to a situation of first-year medical students. During the academic year 2001-02 242 first-year medical students compiled a portfolio. Student experience was collected by semi-structured interviews. The majority of students were of the opinion that analysing one's competences in a portfolio was instructive and meaningful. With regard to learning how to reflect and recognize learning needs, however, mentor coaching proved to be necessary. The results thus far show that the portfolio is a worthwhile addition to existing assessment and learning tools.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗

PubMed2002

Assessing orientations to learning to teach.

BACKGROUND: An important purpose of teacher education is that student teachers develop and change their existing knowledge on learning and teaching. Research on how student teachers variously engage in this process is scarce. In a previous study of 30 student teachers, we identified five different orientations to learning to teach. AIMS: Our aim was to extend the results of the previous study by developing an instrument to assess orientations to learning to teach at a larger scale. The development and psychometric properties of the instrument are discussed. The results with respect to how student teachers learn are compared to the results of the qualitative study. SAMPLE: Participants in this study were 169 secondary student teachers from three institutes which had all adopted an initial in-service model of learning to teach. METHODS: On the basis of extensive qualitative study, a questionnaire was developed to assess individual differences in learning to teach. Factor-, reliability-, and nonparametric scalability analyses were performed to identify reliable scales. Cluster analysis was used to identify groups of students with similar orientations to learning to teach. RESULTS: Eight scales covering cognitive, regulative and affective aspects of student teachers' learning were identified. Cluster analysis indicates that the instrument discriminates well between student teachers. Four of the five previously found patterns were found again. CONCLUSIONS: The four orientations found in relatively uniform learning environments indicate that student teachers need differential support in their learning. Although the instrument measures individual differences in a reliable way, it is somewhat one-sided in the sense that items representing constructive ways of learning dominate. New items forming a broader range of scales should be created.

Adult↗