VERB1100 Professional Identity and Professional Role Course description

This course familiarises students with the profession's history and field of work, as well as the professional role. The focus is on ethics, ethical dilemmas in professional practice and training in ethical reflection. The course introduces the topics of communication, applicable legislation of relevance to practising a health profession, interaction and cooperation. The students are familiarised with how language and culture can influence these aspects. The students are introduced educational pedagogy, motivation in learning and teaching, and the social educator's role as a health and social policy actor. The course is taught over six weeks.

The student must have been admitted to the programme.

On successful completion of the course, the student has the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can describe the development of social education as a separate profession
• can explain the role and function of social educators in cooperation with other professions
• can explain the rights of persons with disabilities and legislation of importance to the professional practice of social educators
• can explain the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• can describe important ethical theories and core values in habilitation and rehabilitation
• can explain inclusion, equality and non-discrimination to ensure equal services for all
• can describe important skills in communication, interaction and cooperation, and how they are influenced by language and culture
• can explain guidelines for preventing risk and threatening incidents, including sexual abuse
• can describe the social educator work model
• can explain different pedagogical theories on motivation and learning
• can explain cognitive and sociocultural development
• can describe relational skills that are important to the professional practice of social educators

Skills

The student

• can demonstrate relational skills in a group to promote cooperation
• can reflect on different pedagogical perspectives and approaches

General competence

The student

• can identify and reflect on relevant academic and ethical challenges in the professional practice of social educators

The teaching and learning methods include lectures, self-study, field trips, peer assessments, group work and various presentations. Digital learning resources will be made available to students in advance, and some of the time they spend at the university will be used to work on assignments and group work.

Language of instruction: Norwegian and English

This course covers the research process from the planning phase until completion of the master’s thesis, including literary searches and referencing, formulation of research questions/hypotheses/issues, choice of research method and development of a project description, as well as ethical assessments relating to the student’s own work. Formal requirements for the project description are also covered to enable the student to complete the project description for their master’s thesis by the end of the course.

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences.

The course will use varied, student-active work methods. The teaching will mainly be digital, in addition to blended learning with seminars on campus during the course. Work and teaching methods include digital lectures, individual literature studies and written work, oral presentations, group discussions and supervision. Up to two hours of guidance is given on the project description.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the examination:

• compulsory attendance and participation at seminar days for your own specialisation
• presentation of own student’s project description for the master’s thesis with subsequent discussion in a plenary session
• held the role of opponent, providing feedback on one or more fellow students' project plan (peer assessment/opponent)

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Pass/fail.