Master's Program in Behavioral Science Programme description

The Master's Program in Learning in Complex Systems comprises 120 ECTS credits in accordance with § 3 of the National Regulations Relating to Requirements for a Master's Degree, appointed by the Ministry of Education and Research on  December 1st,  2005. A successfully completed program leads to the degree Master of Learning in Complex Systems/master i læring i komplekse systemer.

The study program is established in accordance with the Act Relating to Universities and University Colleges of 1 April 2005 and Regulations Relating to Studies and Examinations at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences of 26 June 2012. The program may be completed as a full-time study of 2 years or a part-time study of maximum 4 years.

The program teaches modern behavioral science. The knowledge, skills and competence from the program are useful when designing, implementing, managing and documenting processes of change for individuals and in systems. The program content adds value to all professional repertoires, and prepares graduates for working with complex systems, whether social or technological. Interventions taught in the program are empirically based and well suited for measuring and assessment of outcomes.

Career opportunities and post-graduate studies

Graduates of the program will usually have a set of professional skills from their undergraduate studies, and the program enhances and adds value to those skills. Graduates have found rewarding work in

• planning, implementing and evaluating change processes for individuals and in organizations
• risk assessment and management
• general and special education
• higher education 

The program prepares the graduates for Ph.D. studies.

The master program is accredited by Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI).https://www.abainternational.org/accreditation.aspx

Graduates who wish to sit for the certification exam by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board must complete a specific BACB-approved course sequence. http://bacb.com/

Prospective students have a bachelor's degree and wish to enhance their professional performance through learning well-documented principles of behavioral change. They recognize the need for effective behavioral interventions and are interested in evidence-based methods.

Admission to this study program is processed in accordance with current Regulations Relating to Admission to Master's Degree Programs at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences.

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree or the equivalent from an accredited university or college. The Admissions office makes the decisions on applications for admission.

Additional points are awarded for relevant education beyond the minimum academic requirement. Relevant education includes all higher education. Additional points are also awarded for relevant vocational experience beyond the minimum academic requirement. Relevant vocational experience includes all vocational experience.

Some courses are offered as freestanding courses with admission requirements. Applicants to freestanding courses in the master's program must have a bachelor's degree or the equivalent from an accredited university or college.

For more information, see Forskrift om opptak til studier ved Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus (in Norwegian) or Regulations related to Admission to Studies at Oslo and Akershus University College (in English).

The use of face-covering clothing is not compatible with participation in this study program.

A graduate of this program has acquired the following learning outcomes defined as knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The graduate

• can demonstrate thorough familiarity with basic and advanced principles of experimental, conceptual and applied behavior analysis
• can discuss the relationship between theoretical knowledge, experiments, and applied science
• can analyze and state the difference between description and explanation
• can generalize knowledge over settings and phenomena
• can demonstrate theoretical and working knowledge of the ethical principles that govern scientific research

Skills

The graduate

• can analyze practical problems in terms of applied behavior analysis; Organizational Behavior Management; complexity, and systems dynamics, and argue for the analysis with reference to relevant scientific literature
• can conduct experiments and demonstrate working knowledge of the natural scientific method
• can demonstrate appropriate strategies for measuring effects of interventions by using different designs and inferential statistics
• can critically assess various sources of information
• can conduct a supervised research project in accordance with research ethical guidelines and regulations

Competence

The graduate

• can contribute to the development of evidence-based methods for intervention and change
• can manage complexity in projects and processes of change, and promote the development of learning in complex systems
• can share knowledge and skills with public and peers according to the standards of professional scientific communication, including the current APA standards
• can justify his/her professional behavior with reference to relevant professional and ethical guidelines, general ethical considerations, and assessment of the situation
• can enhance processes of individual and organizational change by optimizing human, technological and economic resources

Program Structure

The master's program comprises 120 ECTS credits, or a workload of two years full time study. Classes and projects are organized for student flexibility, making it possible to complete the program as a part-time student over maximum 4 years (minimum 50% progression).

The languages of instruction are Norwegian and English. Textbooks and reading packages are in English.

Elective courses are offered every Fall term. Students enroll for courses by deadlines each semester and the department reserves the right to cancel courses with insufficient enrolment. Depending on the number of students enrolled, changes may be made in the way the courses are conducted.

The program constitutes a scientifically and pedagogically integrated whole; with mandatory and elective components (all comprising 10 ECTS).

Mandatory courses (a total of 70 ECTS)

These courses are mandatory for all students:

• MALK4000-401 Complexity, Science and Society;
• MALK4000-402 Relational Skills;
• MALK4000-403 Introduction to Behavior Analysis;
• MALK211 Introduction to Concepts;
• MALK212 Refinement of Terms;
• MALKA213 Laboratory and Practical Exercises
• MALK214 Experimental Design and Functional Analysis.  

Elective courses (a total of 20 ECTS)

Each student chooses two (2) of the following courses:

• MALKA215 Complex Human Behavior;
• MALKA218 Ethical Considerations in the Application of Behavior Analysis;
• MALKA217 Early intervention for children with pervasive developmental disorders;
• MALKA219 Organizational Behavior Management;
• MALKA220 Behavioral Economics
• MALKA221 Complex Systems and Risk Management.

Master's thesis

The individual thesis constitutes the final 30 ECTS credits and is usually a work in progress during the elective courses, when students participate in research projects with faculty.

The 2 mandatory seminars on research ethics are open for students from all levels of the program, but must have been completed before submitting the proposal for the thesis. One seminar is held every semester; both must be completed. 

Note: 

To sit for the BACB-exam, students must complete MLAK4000-403, MALKA211-215 and MALKA218.

MALKA 217 may be substituted for MALKA218.

Fulltime students attend two of the elective courses during the Fall term of the second year of the program.

Academic Content:

Mandatory course sequence (MALK4000-401 to MALKA214)

These courses provide basic insight and practical skills in behavior analysis.

The philosophy of science that is fundamental to behavior analysis is introduced and placed in a wider context of philosophy of science. The status of various scientific approaches in modern society is discussed. The courses place the study of human behavior in a natural scientific tradition and emphasize a selectionist understanding of change processes. Basic ontological and epistemological questions are discussed: unity of knowledge; the relationship between natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities; determining and defining analytical units in research; and methodological approaches suitable for promoting effective action based on functional analyses. Behavior analysis - experimental, conceptual and applied - is introduced as a cumulative science of behavior. Laboratory techniques; experimental design, and scientific method in behavioral research conclude the mandatory course sequence.

Elective courses

In the elective courses, various behaviorally based approaches to initiating, facilitating and managing change processes in individual behavior repertoire, organizations and systems are studied. Behavioral technology comprises everything from basic self-control techniques to sophisticated tools for initiating and managing complex processes in large organizations. Important features in this methodology are operational measures of change and continuous data collection.

Master's thesis

The master's thesis is prepared from the start of the elective courses, at the latest. Students theses will usually be written with a basis in research projects run by faculty in the program, or projects in institutions with which the university college has a formal collaboration agreement. The program appoints a thesis advisor.

The mandatory seminars in research ethics cover academic honesty; the work of Regional Ethics Committees; the guidelines of HiOA on research ethics and research fraud; current publication manuals and APA style manuscript preparation, and the use of electronic reference management tools.

Progression Requirements

All coursework requirements must be approved to sit for the final course exam. Coursework requirements must be approved to participate and submit coursework requirements according to the following:

• MALK4000-402:  MALK4000-401 or equivalent
• MALKA211:  MALK4000-401 or equivalent
• MALKA 212:  MALK4000-401, MALK4000-402, MALKA 211 or equivalent
• MALKA 213:  MALK4000-401, MALK4000-402, MALKA 211, MALKA212, or equivalent
• MALK4000-403:  MALK4000-401, MALK4000-402, MALKA 211, or equivalent
• MALKA214:  MALK4000-401, MALK4000-402, MALKA 211, MALKA212, MALK4000-403, MALKA213, or equivalent
• MALKA215: MALK4000-401, MALK4000-402, MALKA 211, MALKA212, MALK4000-403, MALKA213, MALKA 214, or equivalent
• MALKA218, MALKA 217, MALKA219, MALKA220 and MALKA221: MALK4000-401, MALK4000-402, MALKA 211 and MALKA 212 or equivalent
• MALK5000: All courses must be completed with pass grades and the coursework requirements must be approved before the candidate may submit the master's thesis

Exemption from the provisions of progression requirements may in special cases and upon application by the student, be granted.

Emneplanen bygger på Forskrift om rammeplan for barnehagelærerutdanning (180 studiepoeng), fastsatt av Kunnskapsdepartementet 4. Juni 2012. 

Emnet «Forming, kunst og håndverk i barnehagen» kvalifiserer til ledelse og gjennomføring av formingsfaglige og kunstpedagogiske prosesser i barnehagen, og bygger på kunnskapsområdet Kunst, kultur og kreativitet.

Emnet skal videreutvikle studentens kunnskaper og kompetanser i egne utforskende og skapende formingsprosesser og forståelser for hvordan slike prosesser kan ledes i barnehagen med vekt på utforsking, lek, læring og medskaping. 

Temaer som materialkunnskap, teknikker, håndverk, bærekraft, digital praksis og et mangfold av kunst- og kulturtradisjoner står sentralt i studiet.   

I emnet vektlegges utforskende og skapende praktisk-estetiske prosesser og økt faglig refleksjon. Videre bidrar emnet med utvikling av profesjonskunnskap og rollen som fremtidig barnehagelærer. Det legges vekt på ledelse for å ivareta barnehagens samfunnsmandat. Formål og innhold er basert på idealer om likeverd, demokrati, bærekraft og mangfold. 

Rammeplan for barnehagens innhold og oppgaver (KD, 2017) og fagområdet Kunst, kultur og kreativitet fordrer profesjonsrettet formingsfaglig ledelse og praksis. Kroppslige og sanselige erfaringer med materialer, teknikker, uttrykksformer, kunst- og kulturopplevelser legger grunnlag for tilhørighet, deltagelse og eget skapende uttrykk med rom for utforskning, fordypning og progresjon.  

Barnehagen har en viktig oppgave i å fremme verdier, holdninger og praksis for et bærekraftig samfunn. Bærekraft er et verdiperspektiv i barnehagen for å utvikle fremtidsrettede forståelser og nytenkning. I fordypningen vil studenten tilegne seg innsikter og kunnskaper i å skape bærekraftige miljøer som inviterer til materialbevissthet, selvstendighet, praktisk utforsking og kreativitet. 

Se progresjonsregler i programplan for barnehagelærerutdanning.

All courses except MALKA 213 have one or more coursework requirements. Each assignment is graded Approved/Not approved. All assignments must be approved before the student can sit for the exam in each course. The assignments are submitted digitally, and written feedback is delivered in the same electronic platform. When the coursework requirement is delivered according to deadlines in the course schedule the student has the right to receive feedback on the assignment.

A student may submit the same obligatory assignment a maximum of three times. Failed assignments must be reworked before resubmission. If the second submission fails, the student is not eligible for the regular examination. The student is entitled to a third attempt before new/deferred exam.

If one or more assignments are not approved after three attempts, the student must attend the course the next time it is arranged, usually the subsequent year. Application for a fourth and final attempt to complete the assignment to sit for the exam are decided on an individual basis by the Head of the Department.

Two research ethics seminars are 100 % attendance required before submitting the thesis outline. The seminars are held annually, one each semester.

Læringsutbytte 

Etter fullført emne har studenten følgende læringsutbytte definert som kunnskap, ferdigheter og generell kompetanse: 

Kunnskap: 

Studenten 

• har videreutviklet kunnskap om og ledelse av formingsfaglige og kunstpedagogisk prosesser, samt praksisrettet forsknings- og utviklingsarbeid 
• har utvidet kunnskap om dokumentasjon, materielle og kunstneriske og kulturelle uttrykksformer 

• har økt kunnskap om utfordringer og muligheter knyttet til bærekraftig utvikling 
• har utvidet innsikt og kjennskap til håndverks- og kulturtradisjoner, herunder samiske tradisjoner 
• har videreutviklet kunnskap om barns lek og formuttrykk  

Ferdigheter 

Studenten 

• kan lede formingsfaglige og kunstpedagogiske prosesser med barn og personalet i barnehagen 

• har videreutviklet ferdigheter i å eksperimentere med håndverk, teknikker, materialer, verktøy og teknologi 
• har utviklet ferdigheter til å aktivisere fantasi, kreativ tenkning og skaperglede 
• har utvidet kunnskap om ledelse, kritisk refleksjon og veiledning innen fagområdet Kunst, kultur og kreativitet i barnehagen 
• har utvidet materialkunnskap med vekt på bærekraft, kulturarv og varierte kunst- og kulturuttrykk 

Generell kompetanse 

Studenten 

• kan planlegge, lede, gjennomføre, dokumentere og reflektere over formingsfaglig og kunstpedagogisk arbeid 
• kan vise økt faglig, didaktisk og pedagogisk refleksjon og forståelse for egen rolle i formidling av kulturelt mangfold i arbeid med barnekultur 
• kan i stor grad legge til rette for varierte arbeidsmåter og verksteder for eksperimentering, lek og skapende prosesser. 
• har endrings- og utviklingskompetanse og kan i stor grad reflektere kritisk over fysiske miljø, steder og rom i barnehagen