Breaking the ice : how students present themselves to the group in an interprofessional problem-based learning context

• The first time that students meet for a problem-based learning (PBL) tutorial is important for setting the framework for the rest of the PBL process (Hempel & Jern, 2000). This occasion typically involves introducing themselves, meeting the tutor, writing a group contract, and starting work on the first scenario or case. When students are working in interprofessional groups—with peers from other educational programmes—there is the additional complexity of establishing common ground while maintaining one’s own professional focus. It is within this context of interprofessional health education that the current chapter is based. We provide a discursive analysis of the early moments of the first tutorial in which students introduce themselves to their fellow group members. The research question is: How do students present themselves in the first tutorial of a new PBL group in which they come from different professional programmes? In the remainder of the introduction, we situate this work within a broader theoretical and empirical context of work on interprofessional learning and communication, group formation, and academic identities.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Problembaserat lärande

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)