Health Sciences Campus, UCT

This 2 week face-to–face block gives a broad preview of what the four courses of the programme will cover, and how it will run for full time and part time students.

The main objectives of this block are to:

• introduce you to each other to start building a community of practice
• familiarise you with the e-learning platform we will be using (VULA) and the various digital tools we will use to assist your learning journey
• to give you an introduction to each course, the type of assessment you can expect, and use some of the course content to introduce you to the e-learning platform and digital learning tools we will be using
• help you to locate yourselves, and your role as health professional educators, within a broader context (of the country’s health system and possibly globally as health professional educators).

During the block students will explore an introductory overview of the core concepts of the programme such as:

1. 'learning history', and 'learning styles' and how to reflect critically on the significance of their learning histories for their current roles as learners and educators;
2. developing a collective identity as health professional educators through sharing their experiences as health professional educators;
3. the history and trends over time of health professional education and begin to reflect critically on how the broader social context impacts on your work as health professional educators;
4. selected learning theories that have influenced health professional education, and changing trends in health professional education based on best evidence health professional education practice
5. comparing and contrasting their teaching environment within the context of the Primary Health Care Approach and identify relevant issues in their context relating to ethics, human rights and professionalism
6. quantitative and qualitative research approaches; introduction to interpretation of educational research results for evidence, and evaluation of the quality of reported research in terms of strengths and weaknesses
7. new thinking in assessment theory and criteria of good assessment practices
8. curriculum and course design
9. learning to use the digital tools and the e-learning platform (VULA) that will be used throughout the programme
10. critical reflective writing and thinking
11. guidelines for planning and developing an e-portfolio