Scientific publications
Abstract
Higher education is often divided into discipline-oriented and professional programs. Professional programs prepare students for a specific profession and include relevant theoretical and practical knowledge. Discipline-oriented programs emphasize theoretical knowledge and research within a specific discipline or field. Except for a career within research and higher education, discipline-oriented programs provide less obvious links to future careers. The transition from student life to working life may therefore be challenging.
In this paper, we present and discuss the development and implementation of a work placement course as part of the disciplinary programs in biology at the University of Bergen. The course was developed to provide students with practical- and work- related competences, to inform
about opportunities for future career and to foster motivation and learning. We have revised the course according to feedback from students, workplace hosts and our experience as course teachers during the six semesters the course has been running.
The work placement course is at the bachelor (BSc) level and consists of two main components; a work placement and the student’s own reporting of placement outcomes. For the placement, the students work 140 hours at a workplace as a biologist. The reporting consists of four open blog-posts, one written reflective essay and a final oral presentation. The course teachers also meet with the students and convey information on the roles of biology and biologists in today’s society through a Facebook group. Feedback from the students, hosts and course teachers point to a range of benefits from work practice in discipline-oriented study programs. Based on our experience, we provide guidance for implementing such courses.
Reference and link to the article
Velle, G., Hole, T. N., Førland, O., Simonelli, A.-L., and Vandvik, V. (2017). Developing work placements in a discipline-oriented education Nordic Journal of STEM Education, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2017), pp 287-306.
Conferences, seminars and invited talks
Creating better work placements by understanding mentor challenges and developing supporting digital resources. | K. Holtermann, J. Soulé & S. Cotner | 2024 | Læringsfestivalen 2024. Trondheim, Norway, May 27th-28th, 2024 |
Vitenskapelig foredrag (peer-reviewed) |
Presentation of the project DEVELOP | K. Holtermann | 2024 | UiBs Nettverk for økt arbeidsrelevans og kontakt med arbeidslivet - digital meeting April 18th, 2024 | Faglig foredrag |
Praksis i utdanningen og DEVELOP | K. Holtermann & G. Velle | 2024 | Nasjonalt studieadministrativt MNT-seminar, UiB/HVL, Bergen April 15th-16th, 2024 | Vitenskapelig foredrag |
Arbeidspraksis og relevans |
G. Velle & G. van der Meeren | 2024 | bioCEED 10 year Anniversary Seminar, March 6th 2024, University Aula, University of Bergen | Faglig foredrag |
Fagmiljø og student | S. Cotner & P. E. Nerlie | 2024 | NOKUT konferansen 2024, Oslo, Norway, February 8th, 2024 | Keynote |
Creating better work placements by understanding mentor challenges. | K. Holtermann & S. Cotner | 2023 | MNT konferansen 2023, Radisson Blue, Stavanger, Norway. March 16th-17th, 2023 | Vitenskapelig foredrag (peer-reviewed) |
Creating better work placements by understanding mentor challenges | K. Holtermann & J. Soulé | 2023 | BIO teachers retreat 2023, Voss, Norway, November 30th - December 1st, 2023 | Faglig foredrag |
Praksis i biologiutdanningen - Paneldebatt om praksis i utdanninger | K. Holtermann | 2022 | MNT-seminaret, NMBU Ås/Selvig hotell Norway, May 19th, 2023 | Faglig foredrag og Paneldebatt |
Læring gjennom autentiske arbeidsoppgaver - eksempel fra yrkes- og forskningspraksis i biologi ved UiB | K. Holtermann | 2022 | GeoPraksis Forum, UiT, Tromsø | Faglig foredrag |