Our teaching philosophy

Good education rests on a solid foundation of research. Good teaching begins with the teacher's own knowledge and competence. Questions are at the core of training and education, with examination becoming an integrated part of learning.

Starting from the teacher's knowledge and competence

Good teaching rests on science, research and the teacher's own overview, knowledge & competence. All our teachers are engaged in research activities, and almost all our researchers and doctoral students teach. The point of departure for good education is relevant and realistic objectives for the training itself, the body of content, the student's ability, the supervisor's competence, and the time it takes to teach and learn.

The aim of ethics teaching

Our aim is to help students and colleagues develop their competence, allowing them to identify the values at stake when they are faced with ethical dilemmas in their professional life or research. Ethics teaching is not about teaching students what to think. Instead, it is about providing the skills they need to think critically. Our teachers strive to create a climate where questions are welcome and where students can support each other. That is conducive to group learning.

Exercises in critical thinking provide students with an opportunity to practice critical analysis and allow them to evaluate arguements for and against different opinions. For this reason, most of our teaching is interactive. We combine theoretical knowledge with practice, and often start the discussion with actual cases and research ethics or medical ethics dilemmas. Our teaching combines theoretical knowledge whith discussions of current real-life cases and questions that connect to student's everyday experiences.

Examination as part of learning

The connection between the syllabus, learning and examination should be visible. When possible, we make examination a part of the learning itself. Presentations and critical examination of other student's work can help measure the performance of a group. At the same time, this kind of examination can increase the student's understanding of different perspectives on cases and problems.