Mid Sweden University

Academisation and digitalisation are two processes functioning as catalysts for the changes vocational programs in higher education are undergoing. In this paper, a distance-based police education to be launched during spring 2017 in a Swedish university is studied as an example of one such program. In specific, the focus in this paper is a professional development course on pedagogical digital competence (PDC) which 18 police teachers working at the program participated in. The course contained both conceptual (know-why) knowledge and practical (know-how) knowledge about teaching and learning in a distance context. Results from a survey, building on the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK)-model, taken before and after the course show tendencies that the police teachers had developed their PDC, especially their technological content knowledge (TCK).

Research indicates that teachers’ conceptions of and approaches to teaching with technology are central for the successful implementation of educational technologies in higher education. This study advances this premise. We present a 10-year longitudinal study examining teachers’ conceptions of and approaches to teaching and learning with technology. Nine teachers on an online Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and a Master of Pharmacy programme at a Swedish university were studied using a phenomenographic approach. Results showed clear differences between novice and experienced teachers. Although novice teachers initially held more teacher-focused conceptions, they demonstrated greater and more rapid change than experienced colleagues. Experienced teachers tended to exhibit little to no change in conceptions. Supporting conceptual change should, therefore, be a central component of professional development activities if a more effective use of educational technology is to be achieved.

This paper reports on a study of upper secondary school teachers’ and students’ perceptions of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education. Data for the study are interviews with teachers and students that are part of a Swedish fouryear project concerned with the advanced use of ICT in education. The results show that teachers use ICT for several different purposes, and that students expressed an extensive use of ICT. Data reveals a difference between students’ in- and out-of-school use ofICT, out of school they rely more on their smartphones than they do in school.

This chapter focuses on medical students’ experiences in transforming from faceto-faceto distance learners in a Swedish regionalized medical program (RMP).One group of students (n=100) were followed during six semesters through surveys,log data, observations, and in-depth interviews. A research model built on theCultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), including the notion of dominant andnon-dominant activities, was used in order to identify factors that influence students’stepwise transformation from face-to-face to distance learners. The analysis containsthe investigation of pedagogical, institutional, and historically grounded conflictsthat seem to inhibit medical students from making a complete transformation todistance learners. By going deeper into the analysis of transitional actions, whichseems to help in solving conflicts, the chapter discusses implications to facilitatingmedical students’ future transformation from face-to-face to distance learners.These implications are examples of curriculum redesigns, such as new educationaldesigns and integration of technology and pedagogy in the curriculum.

Objective The main objective was to gain a deeper understanding of how medical students perceive and experience learning from gynecological teaching women (GTW) instead of physicians in their first pelvic examination. A second aim was to describe how the women experience their roles as GTW.

Methods Data were collected from individual interviews with 24 medical students from a medical school in Sweden and with 5 GTW. Discourse analysis was performed to acquire a deeper understanding of the informants’ experiences and to understand social interactions.

Results Five themes revealed in the medical students’ experiences: “Hoping that anxiety will be replaced with security,” “Meeting as equals creates a sense of calm,” “Succeeding creates a sense of security for the future,” “Wanting but not having the opportunity to learn more,” and “Feeling relieved and grateful.” One theme revealed in the GTW experiences: “Hoping to relate in a trustworthy way.”

Conclusion To replace physicians with GTW may facilitate the learning process and may also help medical students improve their communicative skills. Using GTW will hopefully further improve students’ basic medical examination techniques and physician–patient relationships.

Practice implications Since GTW seems to increase self-confidence and skills of medical students performing their first pelvic examination we recommend that the use of GTW is considered in the training of medical students.