This is how psychology students are trained to become autonomous professionals
Psychology students do not always feel sufficiently prepared for the responsibilities expected of them later in their studies. That is why they are now increasingly encouraged to learn autonomously at each course level. And that can be quite challenging, even for teachers.
This semester, for the first time, the programme has made explicit what developing autonomous learning entails and the role each course plays in that process. Through joint communication and the efforts of the course coordinators, the programme is taking a first major step forward. Juriena de Vries is one of the course coordinators: 'I strongly believe in the importance of autonomy for students. It increases their motivation and engagement. However, as a teacher, I notice that it is also challenging. Without clear frameworks, students can sometimes feel uncertain. Through this collaboration, we are making clear what autonomous learning entails for each course. For instance, students in our course Stress, Health and Disease will be able to choose how to present their research this year: through a poster, podcast or “classic” PowerPoint. In this way, they experience ownership without losing sight of the learning objecti'ves.'
Defining feature of the programme
Whereas Erasmus University Rotterdam focuses on problem-based learning, students in Leiden are trained to learn autonomously. This is an area that the Psychology programme will be focusing on even more in the coming years. Autonomous learning is therefore one of the key features that the programme will be presenting at the official programme assessment on 17 and 18 November.
'It requires a clear structure in the curriculum to develop this autonomy.'
Space for autonomy
Anouk van der Weiden and director of education Pascal Haazebroek are the driving forces behind the project. Anouk: ‘Society, technology and the labour market are changing rapidly. To keep up, psychologists must adapt, grow, acquire new knowledge and develop skills throughout their lives, independently or with minimal guidance. Our students are currently not sufficiently prepared for this. Even within the programme, there is already a gap between the bachelor's curriculum, the bachelor's thesis project and the master's programme in how autonomously students are expected to learn. At the same time, teachers tend to respond to the call for more structure, which actually hinders the development of autonomous skills.' Pascal: ‘We want students to be more in control of their learning process. We want them to take initiative themselves and not remain dependent on teachers for every detail of what to do. It is therefore important that we, as teachers, give them the space to develop this autonomy. This requires a clear structure in the curriculum.’
Clear expectations
After thorough research, Psychology now distinguishes four components of autonomous learning: setting goals, prioritising and planning; selecting and applying effective learning strategies; monitoring and self-reflection; and acquiring and processing feedback. Together with the course coordinators, it has been determined for each course level what can be expected of both teacher and student. Juriena: ‘The project got Henriët van Middendorp and me thinking: how much space do we actually give students? We discovered that we had sometimes unintentionally limited autonomy, for example by having overly strict assessment criteria. By now formulating these more broadly, within the learning objectives, we create frameworks in which students can express their own voice and creativity.’
'Everyone’s commitment is essential for the success of this project.’
Will it work?
With guidelines, best practice examples and supporting materials, each course coordinator can now get to work. Standard slides with explanations at the start of the course ensure that students know exactly what is expected of them. Is the assignment less strictly defined? Then that is intentional, and the lecturer can refer to the description of the relevant level.Pascal: ‘For a teacher it can be quite a transition, especially if students again ask for more specific frameworks. But we must all keep in mind that when students start working, they will face a dynamic and uncertain society. It is our responsibility to prepare them for that.’ Anouk: ‘We will soon evaluate with the course coordinators how things are going and what comes out of the course evaluations. We will also include input from the Bachelor Programme Committee and the study advisers. Everyone’s commitment is essential for the success of this project.’
New learning trajectory
Are students really making progress in prioritising, feedback, self-reflection and effective learning strategies? In a new learning trajectory, the programme ensures that students can develop these skills at fixed points in the curriculum, such as during the Student Mentoring Programme and courses like Developmental and Educational Psychology and Interpersonal Professional Skills, preparing them for the increasing responsibility they will take on. In addition, the programme is running several pilots this year in which generative AI is used as a Socratic tutor to further support students in autonomous learning.
Site visit programme assessment on 17 and 18 November
By law, a study programme is required every six years to demonstrate that its education is of sufficient quality to receive extended accreditation. In the past the assessment focused primarily on meeting strict quality requirements, there is now also space to reflect constructively on aspects of the programme that are new or still under development.
The assessment committee will meet with students, alumni, lecturers, the Board of Education and the Board of Examiners. They will discuss the quality of the programme based on the four assessment standards set by the NVAO. These standards concern topics such as programme structure, study load, student guidance and course assessment. The committee will also read a selection of thirty theses from the past two years to determine whether students meet the final qualifications of the programmes. In addition, the committee will be consulted on possible directions for development and concrete recommendations in two growth-oriented thematic discussions.