The new Graduate Entry Medical Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand
widens access to study and aims to change the learning process. Content is integrated
horizontally and vertically and the learning is organized around facilitated, problembased
learning (PBL) tutorials. This study investigated the approaches students have
adopted to learning in the curriculum. Questionnaire data, PBL tutorial observation and
focus group discussions revealed that uptake and adaptation were not the same for
different groups of students. Those who were most mature in age showed the greatest
tendency towards self-directed learning behaviour, while many students were unable to
make appropriate use of the available time and resources. Although most students
believed that they were able to integrate disciplinary information, they valued the
psychosocial content areas less than the biomedical sciences. The attitudes, skill and
identity of the facilitators were important for engaging students in the PBL process.
These findings suggest that the social context of the learning may impact on the ability to
access knowledge and develop a professional identity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/4965 |
| Date | 19 June 2008 |
| Creators | Manning, Dianne Mary |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 643690 bytes, 3062384 bytes, 177790 bytes, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
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