I then examine these perceptions and experiences according to the eight elements of Bernstein's classification and framing. I gratefully acknowledge the assistance and support of a number of individuals who contributed to the prosecution and completion of this thesis.
Introduction Setting the scene
Why students and staff experience the problem-based pedagogy of the UKZN College of Health as they do. All these fields were taught, thought about and written about in the style of pure sciences.
Literature Review
His support could be claimed for the concept of the 'spiral curriculum', where material is revised at a more advanced level later in the curriculum. Lee Shulman said that for members of the professions (including medicine) he had studied, understanding and action/practice were necessary, but not sufficient, to develop a professional attitude, and that character education was of enormous importance (Shulman, 2005). ).
Theoretical and conceptual frameworks
From Bernstein's theoretical description, a traditional medical curriculum would be closer to the cumulative end of the spectrum and a PBL curriculum relatively closer to the integrated end. This contradiction, if valid, would cast doubt on the basis of sociolinguistic theory as an explanation of Bernstein's (and others') observations, although it does not call Bernstein's descriptive classification and framing scheme into question.
Research design and methodology
A display of the data in terms of the 'nodes' (themes of analysis) I identified when using NVivo can be seen in Appendix F. This achievement is one way to measure the end result of pedagogy under scrutiny. The assessment of the transferability of my findings, their analysis and the conclusions I draw must be taken by the reader.
The Dean of the medical school gave permission for faculty records to be searched and referenced.
Numerical data South African tertiary education
In this chapter I analyze numerical data related to factors that can be expected to influence perceptions and experiences of the pedagogy under scrutiny. Lacking a direct measure of students' engagement in PBL, I used their test scores over the first three years of the MBChB program as a surrogate – the years in which PBL took the form of 'problems' in a clinical context which is handled by way of cooperative learning in small groups. The high schools previously attended by 127 of the initial group of 202 students could be classified according to their quintiles34.
33 Table showing the results of the GEE analysis, the relative weights and the degree of statistical significance of the various factors from Appendix I.
Assessment marks according to Quintile
The graph below (Figure 5.1a) confirms the statistics, showing that students from Q1 high schools perform significantly (p < 0.001) worse than the rest (in the GLM analysis), which cannot be distinguished from each other. Second, although K2 schools are not statistically distinguishable from K3 to K6 schools, the Q2 line on the graph tends to lie above the others. Combining quintiles to obtain larger numbers (comparing 21 students from K1-3 with 127 students from K4-6) shows a clear difference between the lower and upper quintiles (Figure 5.1b).
They don't have the money; they go to school and they perform very well in terms of academics because that's the only thing they have.
Assessment marks: grouped Quintiles
Dr Pillay also points to some of the social conditions that can have an influence on schools in different areas. Kids who go to these Model C schools and who do form part of the black community - they have it easier, I think, and it's not as much motivation. Many advantages and disadvantages of the different types of schools are advanced by my respondents.
In the graph, Q1 students can be separated from all others, but as part of the overall interaction represented by the GEE [Appendix I], all quintiles are highly significant influences (but Q2 still shows the largest effect).
Assessment marks according to HE experience
Of the 202 first-year students in 2007, 166 had graduated straight away from high school, 19 had a year or more of higher education behind them, 10 had previously completed other degrees, and 7 were repeating the year. Comments on the relative achievement of the four groups of students reflect the expectation that students with a prior university experience would fare better. There are no - if you do a little extra work - cum laude type of questions.
Having already completed a degree or successfully spent any time in tertiary studies offers an advantage - the latter has half the impact of the former.
Assessment marks: Class average
This movement – especially in light of the minor contribution of "matric points" as a factor (see the following section) – suggests that the transition from high school to university may have been less significant than the increased difficulty of the 2nd year curriculum. The failure rates in the three years (based on exam results at the end of the semester combined with results at the end of the thematic tests) reinforce this view: there were 8 failures in the 1st year (plus two who left for other reasons), 9 ( plus one) in the 2nd year and 22 (plus one) in the 3rd year40. As the university has set the passing grade for all assessments at 50%, variation in question difficulty from one assessment to the next is not calculated and then taken into account.
Although highly significant (p < 0.001) in the GEE comparison, the actual effect of the student's matric scores was small compared to the other parameters.
Assessment marks according to matric points
As the spread of scores was treated by SPSS as a scalar quantity, I have compared those above and below the mean score in an attempt to show the influence of this parameter. It remains true that past academic achievement accurately predicts future academic achievement (Ferguson, et al., 2002); however, as in the post-matric academic world, scholastic achievement is considerably less important. For reasons of simplicity and transparency, the medical school admits prospective students primarily on a quota based on "race" and secondarily on a points system based on their school.
As with matrix points, age was statistically treated as a scalar quantity, but I have grouped the class on either side of the median for representation (Figure 5.5).
Assessment marks according to Age
Respondents were not asked to comment on the effect of age, as I had no corresponding chart from the previous study.]. Truemen and Hartley (1996) noted that although older students appeared to have superior study skills, age was only a 'modest' predictor of academic achievement. Age and previous experience in tertiary education tend to go together in the developed world, but the GEE analysis here indicates that it is not older students' greater maturity, but their greater experience at university, that is the important influence in terms of of academic success.
Those who received academic scholarships fared better overall than those funded by their families.
Assessment marks according to Funding
Mr M Davids of the Student Funding Office clarified the differences between the awarding of bursaries, bursaries and NSFAS loans. Uh – most of the higher cohorts live at home with their parents [I'm thinking the same thing] and living at home tends to have – it seems to me – a better effect on your learning and studying, compared to living away from home. Imposed by the apartheid government to provide different facilities to different sections of the population, classification is now being used in efforts to redress these inequalities.
Selection of prospective students by faculty under a quota system intended primarily to represent the demographics of the community, rather than based entirely on academic performance in high school.
Assessment marks according to Race
Because children were assigned to schools based on their race, the results of this schooling are readily visible by race. this inference: Cross-tabulation and use of the χ2 test show a highly significant [p = 0.001] correlation between race and school quintile.). There is a general rejection of the idea that race alone is responsible for the differences seen in the stimulus graphs I used. Those racial groups represented by relatively few students drawn from the top of the academic ladder automatically tend to perform better academically.
A study (Singaram . & Sommerville, 2011) on the dynamics of cooperative learning in small groups was able to document beneficial interactions in terms of some of the various demographic characteristics for which race may be a proxy.
Assessment marks according to Sex
I have seen in the clinical years that women are generally slightly better at preparing for a tutoring session and that there seems to be better organization; and I have also noticed that more and more female students are group representatives. However, when the grades of English-speaking students in the first language are compared group by group with those of English speakers in the second language, there is a significant difference (p < 0.001)(GLM). When the language of instruction and the student's first language coincide, a significant advantage can be expected.
Those for whom English is not their first language are aware of their disadvantage - but do not consider it insurmountable.
Assessment marks according to Language
In the literature on second language learning, I find both support for and contradiction of the intuitively obvious idea that learning a second language is detrimental. A publication on elementary school science education in the USA mentioned the poorer performance of second language English speakers (Stoddart, Solis, Tolbert, & Bravo, 2010). These students, who have school leavers in the language of instruction, are aware of the difficulty in learning subject content.
In striking – and counterintuitive – contrast to the comparison between English as a first language and as a second language.
Assessment marks according to Facilitator
Most of the time they give an approach and then in tutorials they usually have the question "Why?" - "Why would you say that?" - do you understand. I think there won't be much difference, because they have a good grip on the situation, so I don't think there will be much difference. Yes] So it doesn't – is it actually that big of a deal that they have medical or non-medical facilitators.
This serves as an example of the interaction of student demographic characteristics (and the importance of qualitative findings to help explain quantitative data).
6 Student
It also depends on what kind of student you want to be at the end of the day. Keketso distinguishes between the social dynamics of lectures and those of small group sessions, and the differences in the nature of engagement that result. Small group sessions; these are definitely one of the highlights of PBL.
In the interviews, students often mention aspects of their knowledge of the material presented in the short and longer term.
7 Teacher
And what happens in the clinical years is that some of the supervisors, when you [students] ask questions, not all of them [supervisors] just want to give you the answer. For me it was not the right way – we all work in the best interest of the patient. Most of the time they give an approach and then in tutorials they usually have the question "Why?" - “Why would you say that.
Non-medical facilitators are thought to be unable to (a) correct students' misunderstandings and (b) bring out the clinical significance of the problem cases.
8 Institution 58
Several staff members talk about obstacles they have found in the implementation of the program. This then relates to the end point of each phase of the program - the assessment. Dr Patel feels that his department has modified its assessment criteria to the detriment of the quality of the assessments.
You discover that you know the answer, but you do not understand how the wording of the question is.
PBL pedagogy analysed through Bernstein’s Classification and Framing
The following quote can be taken as an illustration of the particular division of the difference between medical and everyday knowledge. I try to show them that medicine is part of the whole; it's part of everyday knowledge that's part of life, and you have to have a life perspective on health and illness. In the responses listed above, students cite terminology as at least part of the boundary between everyday and medical knowledge.
The language of teaching and learning in medical school is not the first language of most students (and patients).
