Contextualised learning and formative research in a course in a Professional Technical Program

This study was carried out in a Colombian institution located in the city of Bogota which offers professional-technical programs. This paper presents the results of a comparative study of students’ perceptions of a Clinical Bio-ethics course in the Oral Health Professional-Technical Program. The comparison is made between students who took the course as designed and implemented by the Health Faculty for many years and a new proposal using a model based on formative research. Interviews and open-question surveys were used to examine activities and their relationship with learning ethics, as well as the relevance of the course to the students’ future careers. The results show that course design directly affects the perceived relevance of the course to the students’ profession, as well as in the characterization of the learning process.