What did you learn in the real world today? The case of practicum in university educations

by Henriksen, Lars Bo

• ISBN13: 9788771120738
• ISBN10: 8771120734
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-03-07
• Publisher: Aalborg University Press

Summary

Practice, praxis, traineeship, internship, or practicum - these are all names for the specific arrangements where students from universities engage in real life experiences; in arrangements where they leave the secure tranquility of the university and enter into the chaotic world of work. Practicum is a very good way of learning, and it can be very interesting for all parties involved. The students appreciate it, even if it is cumbersome, frustrating, and requires a lot of work - work that is different from what they know in their previous encounters with the education system. This book asks a simple question in relation to practicum, paraphrasing Tom Paxton's song: What Did You Learn in the Real World Today? The question is asked without the irony of Paxton's original one, in order to find out what is learned in the practicum. The chapters in this book shed some light on this simple question. The question is confronted from philosophical and pedagogical perspectives, while investigating a number of cases of students' learning experiences in the real world.