VERPRA30 Practical Studies Related to Bachelor Thesis Course description

The main focus is on milieu therapy work, habilitation and rehabilitation in relation to the social educator's field of work. VERPRA30 includes user-oriented supervised practical training in authentic work situations. The bachelor's thesis in VERB3900 is written on the basis of experience gained during VERPRA30. Cooperation across enterprises, levels and sectors, quality-enhancing work processes and new thinking are important in relation to measures to be established/continued.

The students themselves choose a relevant area of specialisation offered by the university. Alternatively, the students themselves can propose relevant areas of specialisation. The students will cooperate with the practice placement and the service recipient(s) on relevant issues that they will work on independently during the course.

VERPRA30 includes eleven weeks of user-oriented practical training in authentic work situations. There is also three weeks of seminars relating to this course and course VERB3900 before the practical training period. These seminar weeks will include skills training in how to provide counselling/supervision, among other things. Management skills are another focus area. The seminar weeks will also focus on thesis outline, data collection methods, the APA style of referencing and carrying out projects in preparation for the bachelor's thesis.

The students will also participate in the interprofessional project INTER1300 wtih scope of work corresponding to 1,5 credits:  Interprofessional Cooperation about and with Children, Young People and Their Families. The theme will be how different professions can cooperate on and with children and adolescents. This includes a theoretical understanding of and research-based knowledge about interprofessional cooperation about and with children, young people and their families.

INTER1300 addresses the learning outcomes marked with an asterisk (*) and written in italics.

Learning outcomes marked with two asterisks (**) are covered during the preparation weeks before VERPRA30 and VERB3900.

Passed second year and passed Part 1) Assessed practical training in the course VERPRA20 

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

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of key theoretical understandings of interprofessional cooperation*
• has knowledge of the research- and experience-based basis for interprofessional cooperation about and with children, young people and their families*
• can explain laws and regulations relevant to the activities at the practice placement
• can describe the practice placement’s professional basis and the purpose of its activities
• can describe the practice placement’s quality, notification and non-conformity systems
• can describe case processing procedures used at the practice placement
• can explain the reporting and record system at the practice placement
• can explain the practice placement's interdisciplinary and interprofessional cooperation across enterprises, levels and sector
• has knowledge of evidence-based methods that contribute to strengthening service recipients’ quality of life
• can provide examples of management in organisations by applying behaviour analysis principles**

Skills

The student

• can participate actively in interprofessional cooperation about and with children, young people and their families based on his/her own profession*
• can establish a common, interprofessional platform for active cooperation with children, young people and their families, as well as for his/her own profession-specific contribution*
• can prepare a thesis outline
• can safeguard the rights and self-determination of service recipients and provide decision-making support
• can apply relevant assessment and testing methods to identify the service recipient's goals and needs to form a basis for measures
• can prepare measures to promote coping and participation that are in accordance with ethical requirements, laws and regulations
• can plan, carry out, document and evaluate an evidence-based training and/or care measure in cooperation with the service recipient and others
• can assess the risk of undesirable incidents and describe methods for following up such risk in a systematic manner in cooperation with others
• can provide guidance to and, if relevant, teach service recipients, next of kin, colleagues or other parties by applying professional knowledge and results from research and development work
• can demonstrate counselling/supervision skills, and receive and make use of feedback on his/her own behaviour**
• can demonstrate skills that motivate members of a group**
• can provide and receive constructive feedback in an expedient manner**

General competence

The student

• understands the basis for and necessity of interprofessional cooperation about and with children, young people and their families, and of his/her own professional contribution to the cooperation*
• can discuss professional, ethical and legal challenges and dilemmas in habilitation and rehabilitation,
• can discuss and make use of critical reflection on his/her own work process and own cooperation with others
• can contribute new thinking and possible systematic quality-enhancing work processes, including use of digital and welfare technology opportunities and solutions, in cooperation with service recipients, next of kin, other service providers and parties
• can discuss the professional role in an interprofessional context and initiate and contribute to interprofessional and intersectoral cooperation
• can exchange professional opinions and experience and contribute to the development of good practice

The teaching and learning methods include external practical training, lectures, group work, self-study and skills training relating to e.g. guidance skills and leading meetings and groups. The practical training requires active participation in work at the practice placement.

Digital learning resources are used in INTER1300 Interprofessional Cooperation about and with Children, Young People and Their Families, including digital resource lectures across study programmes, relevant cases and examples. Casework, observations and assignments related to interprofessional group work and self-study are also used.

The following applies to all practical training courses in the proramme:

The programme comprises a total of 30 weeks supervised practical training divided between three practical training courses. All the practical training shall be supervised and user-oriented in authentic work situations. The practical training is compulsory. Compulsory attendance makes up an average of 30 hours a week. Students must expect to engage in independent activity in addition to the time they spend at the practice placement. The ordinary workload for practical training courses is about 40 hours per week. The student and the practical training supervisor must agree on the days and times when the student will take the practical training. This agreement helps to ensure that the student achieves the best possible learning outcome. The university facilitates practical training at different public and private enterprises at different levels of the public administration.

The supervised practical training is intended to help students to develop their assessment, action and decision-making competence by integrating theoretical and practical knowledge. Practical training will also provide experience in multidisciplinary and interprofessional cooperation. A practical training supervisor is appointed. The practical training supervisor helps to support the student's learning process so that he/she achieves the learning outcomes for the practical training courses.

Skills training in the programme will not be divided by gender. Nor can gender separation be expected during practical training.

Each practical training course has its own learning outcomes, described in the individual course descriptions. The supervised practical training gives students experience of:

• interprofessional and inter-agency cooperation,
• habilitation and rehabilitation,
• health promotion, care and health care,
• adaptation, inclusion and participation for persons with impaired cognitive functioning and complex assistance needs, and
• innovation, documentation and quality assurance.

The supervised practical training is assessed with the grade pass or fail by the practical training supervisor in cooperation with the university lecturer. The student and practical training supervisor hold midway and final assessments in the course. The lecturer participates in the assessment as needed.

In connection with the first two practical training courses, there is one week of preparations beforehand and one week of follow-up work after the practical training period has been completed. Attending these weeks is compulsory, and they are included in the number of credits each practical training course is worth.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can receive a final assessment:

• participation in group work with skills training in advance of the practical training, groups of six students
• participation in group presentation of an individual video in advance of the practical training, groups of six students
• thesis outline of up to 1,000 words for the bachelor's thesis*
• participation in teaching activities related to the chosen specialisation - 80% attendance
• participation in work at the practice placement, minimum attendance of 90%
• assessment in relation to the suitability criteria cf. the Regulations concerning Suitability Assessment in Higher Education
• submission of completed and signed practical training documents in accordance with given criteria
• required coursework described for INTER1300, see the INTERACT website: https://www.oslomet.no/forskning/forskningsprosjekter/interact 

*If the project the student participates in changes after the original project description has been approved, the student must submit a new project description for approval within the given deadlines.

Assessment of practical training:

The assessment is based on the learning outcomes for the course and the continuous assessment made of the student's achievement of the learning outcomes for the supervised practical training course. Students can only be assessed if they meet the minimum attendance requirement of 90% for the practical training.

Resits/rescheduled assessment:

Students who fail a period of practical training normally have to retake the whole practical training course, with the exception of INTER1300, provided that it has been approved.

The following applies to all practical training courses in the proramme:

The supervised practical training is assessed as passed or failed. Three elements must be passed in order for students to pass a period of practical training:

• Compulsory attendance
• Learning outcomes
• Suitability

To pass the supervised practical training, the student must have met the compulsory attendance requirement. A minimum attendance requirement of 90% applies to practical training courses. If the maximum limit for absence is exceeded, the student can make up for the practical training/teaching activities missed if practically possible. If it is not possible to compensate for the absence, the whole period of supervised practical training must be retaken. This will result in delayed progress in the programme.

Not relevant

Pass/fail

The lecturer based on the recommendation of the practical training supervisor

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