Partners Meeting in Project DITEPRACT

A meeting of the Erasmus + strategic partnership project DITEPRACT took place on January 11-14 at the University of Malardalen (Sweden) with the participation of the head of the Nursing Department prof. A.Blaževičienė and Živilė Kepežinskienė, Coordinator of International Programmes. Teachers of nursing and health sciences from Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Turkey, Latvia and LSMU Nursing Clinic are participating in the project. The aim of the project is to develop, apply digital or hybrid teaching and learning methods to develop practical skills.

Constantly increasing use of digital technology has led to new ways of teaching and learning in education, and has encouraged teachers to acquire digital competencies to attract generation Z students to the content of their lectures and to make complex subjects more engaging and inclusive. Digital technologies in education pave the way for new pedagogical approaches that stimulate active participation. Digital technologies are used in higher education institutions for many purposes, such as the development of course material, the sharing of content, the development of presentations and courses, academic research, and student enrollment. Teaching and learning methods using digital technologies (e-learning, blended learning and mobile learning) can improve the quality of teaching and learning and contribute to the quality of education, at least as a complement to other methods.

Although distance learning and digital technologies have long been used around the world, their importance and relevance became even more pronounced during the COVID 19 pandemic. Many universities use a hybrid teaching model to acquire practical skills. Therefore, not only the readiness of students to use new technologies is very important, but also the role of teachers at this stage. The importance of various technical resources and qualified teachers is essential for successful and high-quality education.

One of the objectives of this project is to analyze the digital competencies of teachers in six European universities using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Preliminary results were discussed during the meeting.

Also, based on a systematic review by project participants, the meeting analyzed which digital technologies are best suited for teaching practical skills. Also, based on this review, recommendations will be developed for higher education teachers on the use of new technologies in the teaching process and what is best compatible with the acquisition of clinical skills.

Future activities in the project were discussed during the meeting. One such activity is the development of clinical scenarios and their testing using different digital technologies.

Many interesting and innovative activities await in the project, which will enable teachers to present the content of lectures and seminars in a more attractive way, hoping that it will meet the expectations of current and future students.

Prof. Aurelija Blaževičienė, Head of the Nursing Department, Project Coordinator