Abstracts - Earli

graduate students. However, we began to recognize that newcomers to Canada often have theskills to work as research assistants but lack opportunities to do so. The purpose of this study wasto explore an existing Higher Education Research Assistant Program at a Canadian university andits potential for increasing research skills and integrating internationally trained professionals intothe Canadian culture and economy. The program consisted of 25 weeks of workshops and on-thejobtraining. Eighteen Internationally Trained Professionals and 4 Instructors participated in theprogram. The data collected in this action research included semi-structured individual interviews,focus group interviews, participants’ reflection sheets, and participants’ assignments. This paperwill address main challenges and benefits encountered by the internationally trained professionalsand their instructors while in the program.Foreign language aspects of a doctoral vivaYehudit Od Cohen, Ohalo College for Teacher Education, IsraelThis paper addresses the linguistic and the social aspects of a doctoral viva voce examination, withthe aim of elevating the prospects of a successful defence by refining the social and foreignlanguage skills. I can share my experience, combined with my knowledge of the teaching andlearning of English in order to provide insight upon the dynamics of a doctoral viva from a foreignlanguage perspective. This may become useful to doctoral candidates, or directors of studies ofsuch candidates, who wish to defend their theses successfully using a foreign language. The paperfirst analyses the linguistic issues involved in defending a doctoral thesis, the knowledge requiredfor this defense during a viva exam, and then offers practical advice for a successful thesisdefense.L931 August 2007 11:00 - 12:20Room: PP9Poster SessionChair:Poster sessionTommy Dreyfus, Tel Aviv University, IsraelPromoting learning: Student-centred activities in a pathology courseMaria Weurlander, Department of Learning, Informatics, Management an, SwedenAnnika Ostman Wernersson, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Pat, SwedenMagnus Soderberg, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Pat, SwedenItalo Masiello, Department of Learning, Informatics, Management an, SwedenThe aim of this study was to evaluate the students’ perceptions of a new form of case seminars as ateaching method and to investigate in what way the seminars contributed to learning as perceivedby the students. Method: Fifty-three medical students participated in the study. After the caseseminars the students answered two open-ended questions. The answers were analysed with aqualitative approach where the emerging themes were grouped into categories. Preliminaryfindings: The case seminars in pathology were a positive learning experience for the students. Fouraspects of importance for learning were identified. 1) Motivational aspects concerned an increasein interest and motivation to learn. 2) Knowledge building aspects included enhancing memoryformation and facilitation of understanding. 3) The case seminars seemed to help the students to– 679 –