Showing papers by "Kirsti Lonka published in 2010"

The anatomy of learning anatomy

Abstract: The experience of clinical teachers as well as research results about senior medical students’ understanding of basic science concepts has much been debated. To gain a better understanding about how this knowledge-transformation is managed by medical students, this work aims at investigating their ways of setting about learning anatomy. Second-year medical students were interviewed with a focus on their approach to learning and their way of organizing their studies in anatomy. Phenomenographic analysis of the interviews was performed in 2007 to explore the complex field of learning anatomy. Subjects were found to hold conceptions of a dual notion of the field of anatomy and the interplay between details and wholes permeated their ways of studying with an obvious endeavor of understanding anatomy in terms of connectedness and meaning. The students’ ways of approaching the learning task was characterized by three categories of description; the subjects experienced their anatomy studies as memorizing, contextualizing or experiencing. The study reveals aspects of learning anatomy indicating a deficit in meaningfulness. Variation in approach to learning and contextualization of anatomy are suggested as key-elements in how the students arrive at understanding. This should be acknowledged through careful variation of the integration of anatomy in future design of medical curricula.

Personal Goals and Academic Achievement among Theology Students.

Abstract: Studying in higher education requires long‐term commitment Previous studies have shown that commitment, perceived competence, intrinsic motivation and work‐life orientation are positively related to academic achievement This study examines the kinds of goals theology students have at the beginning of studies, and whether these goals are related to academic achievement during their first three years at university Personal project analysis was used to acquire information about first‐year students’ study‐related personal goals and related evaluations The evaluations were factor analysed, and three clusters of students were derived on the basis of the factors: the committed, self‐fulfillers and the non‐committed The results show that students who perceived progress, were capable and had intrinsic reasons for their goals advanced more rapidly in their studies The implication is that variation in academic achievement is at least partly a consequence of variation in orientation towards studying at the begi

Osallisuus ja hyvinvointi tiedeyhteisössä : tohtoriopiskelijoiden kokemuksia

Abstract: Kolmea yliopistoa koskeneessa tutkimuksessa selvitettiin sita, minkalainen yhteys tiedeyhteisolla ja siihen kuulumisen kokemuksella voi olla tohtoriopintojen pitkittymiseen tai keskeyttamiseen.