Abstracts - Earli

Student-centred discussion as an on-line vicarious learning resource for educators in speech andlanguage therapyBarbara Howarth, Newcastle University, United KingdomJulie Morris, Newcastle University, United KingdomRichard Cox, University of Sussex, United KingdomThis paper describes a methodology for capturing students’ learning experiences for use as an onlinevicarious learning resource in the domain of speech and language therapy. This work formspart of a 3-year project which aims to add and evaluate vicarious learning resources to anestablished on-line learning resource called PATSy (www.patsy.ac.uk – Cox and Lum, 2004).Vicarious relates to the notion that students benefit from access to the learning experiences ofothers learning (Chi et. al. 2001; Cox et. al. 1999; Laurillard, 1993; McKendree et. al. 1998). Tocapture students’ learning experience, a set of focussed questions, known as task-directeddiscussions (TDDs) were developed to elicit student-student and tutor-student discussions whichfocussed on key issues in clinical reasoning. The TDDs addressed specific learning difficultiesexperienced by student informants who used PATSy to assess a "virtual patient" in the domain ofspeech and language therapy (project refs). Video recordings were made of student-student andtutor-student discussions using trainee and expert speech and language therapists as informants.The TDDs were then edited using video-editing software (Pinnacle Systems Inc, Pinnacle Studio)and student-student dialogues were matched with tutor-student discussions for content. Theresulting video clips were incorporated into the PATSy database. A study to evaluate theeffectiveness of student-student dialogues and tutor-led dialogues as a vicarious learning resourceis currently underway.Success of a pedagogical innovation named ‘researcher workshop’ in helping prospectiveteachers to understand the importance of research skillsMari Murtonen, University of Turku, FinlandM. Mikkila-Erdmann, University of Turku, FinlandTuike Iiskala, University of Turku, FinlandA pedagogical innovation named "researcher workshop" was implemented at the department ofteacher education at the University of Turku in late 90’s. The workshop aimed at reducingstudents’ problems in learning research methods and helping them to see the relevance of researchskills for their future work. An important goal of teacher education programs is to graduateteachers who have the necessary skills to be both consumers and producers of educationalresearch, and who are able to act as role models for pupils in problem solving situations with"researching attitude". In this presentation, the theoretical foundations of the researcher workshopare discussed in detail and experiences from a researcher workshop are presented. The purpose ofthis study was to compare two groups of students. The first group participated in a more traditionalresearch curriculum and the second group studied in the researcher workshop environment. Weinterviewed students and compared their views and perceptions on the need of research skills, aswell as the difficulties that they experienced in the learning of research methodology. We alsoexamined how supervisors in the researcher workshop have experienced the innovation and howthey thought it helped students to learn. As a result, the researcher workshop was able to reducestudents’ difficulties in learning and helped students see the relevance of research skills.– 222 –