Reason behind this project
A few years ago, a coaching path was developed to help Biomedical Sciences students in their professional development. However, several components of this coaching path do not match well together, which causes them to often miss their target. How can this coaching path be improved in such a way that students receive proper guidance?
Currently, the goals of this mandatory component of the master's programme do not align with the learning objectives of students themselves; there is misalignment. For example, it is not uncommon for a coordinator to discuss with a student how best to write a resume until after they have found an internship. Other parts of the coaching path raise the question whether it would not be better to have those parts be taught by a specialist, so the execution runs more efficiently.
The learning activities in the current coaching path can be adjusted in a way that learning objectives can be better achieved. A different teaching method could, for example, better fit a specific learning objective. This is currently being investigated.
Anniek van der Waart and Esmeralda Davidson aim to improve this coaching path by clearly formulating and, in addition, leave room for learning objectives formulated by students themselves. They also aim to align the learning objectives and the appraisal with these personal learning objectives.
Approach within the project
The various coordinators of the specialisations within the Biomedical Sciences master's programme have a share in resolving the misalignment within the coaching path. However, the students' own input for improving this is the most important. Therefore, several learning activities are being organised, which will be evaluated from the student perspective.
The evaluation will be carried out by some student assistants and so-called specialisation year representatives. They are a point of contact and ensure that the student point of view is properly applied in the evaluations.