Influence of context and preferred learning environments: approaches to studying physiology

Abstract

One hundred and twenty-eight medical students who had experienced a traditional-style preclinical curriculum completed three self-report questionnaires. Using factor analysis of students' responses this study explores interactions between study orientation, preferences for different kinds of learning environment, and evaluations of the physiology course. Such interactions can provide insight into the reasons why students fail to adopt effective learning strategies. Although many students had the intention to understand, they did not adopt a deep approach. Achievement motivation was strong, test anxiety high, and the course was perceived to be competitive. The meaning orientation merged with the achieving orientation; students were thus performance rather than task oriented. These students perceived the course to have been challenging, as did students within the reproducing orientation and who had 'surface' preferences. Students within the non-academic orientation had difficulty coping with the course. The findings suggest that conventional teaching and assessment methods are preventing students from developing appropriate criteria and internal standards for evaluating performance. An illusion of comprehension may prevent students from seeing the need to adopt more effective learning strategies and cause 'good' students with the ability to adopt a deep approach to abort the pursuit of deep understanding. Students' preferences and evaluations of teaching and assessment indicate that students within the different learning orientations have different educational needs. The implications for instruction and evaluation are discussed.

Motivation as an independent and a dependent variable in medical education: A review of the literature

“…The other studies did not find significant correlations, two of which have small sample size, hence may have lacked the power to find significant differences (Elam et al 1999;de Bruin et al 2005). Tan and Thanaraj (1993) found significantly negative correlation, but in this study intrinsic motivation was measured with only one item in the questionnaire. We were not always able to confirm the reliability of the outcome measures, so these findings should be interpreted with caution.…”

“…No significant difference was found in performance between students with high and low motivation (conditions created by using external motivators) and controls when tested on clinical case processing and recall of differential diagnosis (de Bruin et al 2005). Intrinsic motivation, which was measured by only one item, was found to be significantly negatively correlated (r ¼ À0.17) with academic success (Tan & Thanaraj 1993).…”

Postal survey of approaches to learning among Ontario physicians: implications for continuing medical education

“…Although we cannot determine causation from this study, studies of undergraduate students indicate that the learning environment affects the approach to learning, independent of the preferred learning style. 7 15 – 17 Yet medical students with a deep approach to learning were more likely to take an intercalated degree and pursue a career in research or laboratory medicine, indicating that their approach to learning may affect the environment they choose 18…”

Exploring Changes in Occupational Therapy Students' Approaches to Learning during Pre-Registration Education

“…If they are put under undue pressure to complete tasks within limited timeframes, or are presented with a syllabus that emphasises coverage and high contact hours, superficial approaches to learning are a predictable outcome. Tan and Thanaraj (1993) pointed out that in the absence of sufficient time to grapple with complex ideas, crammed curricula could lead to the simplification of concepts by students and a fear of failure that might prompt the avoidance of difficult tasks. Further, they suggested that the same demanding curriculum might force students to seek more strategic approaches to studying, focused on securing examination success.…”