Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Mar 22:5:2382120518765135.
doi: 10.1177/2382120518765135. eCollection 2018 Jan-Dec.

Tracking Active Learning in the Medical School Curriculum: A Learning-Centered Approach

Lise McCoy  1   2   3 , Robin K Pettit  2   3 , Charlyn Kellar  3 , Christine Morgan  3
Affiliations

Tracking Active Learning in the Medical School Curriculum: A Learning-Centered Approach

Lise McCoy et al. J Med Educ Curric Dev. .

Abstract

Background: Medical education is moving toward active learning during large group lecture sessions. This study investigated the saturation and breadth of active learning techniques implemented in first year medical school large group sessions.

Methods: Data collection involved retrospective curriculum review and semistructured interviews with 20 faculty. The authors piloted a taxonomy of active learning techniques and mapped learning techniques to attributes of learning-centered instruction.

Results: Faculty implemented 25 different active learning techniques over the course of 9 first year courses. Of 646 hours of large group instruction, 476 (74%) involved at least 1 active learning component.

Conclusions: The frequency and variety of active learning components integrated throughout the year 1 curriculum reflect faculty familiarity with active learning methods and their support of an active learning culture. This project has sparked reflection on teaching practices and facilitated an evolution from teacher-centered to learning-centered instruction.

Keywords: Active learning; critical thinking; interactive learning; learning-centered curriculum.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests:The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Active learning techniques, MSI, AY 2015-2016.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Stuart G, Triola M. Enhancing health professions education through technology: building a continuously learning health system. In: Proceedings of a conference recommendations; April 9-12, 2015; Arlington, VA New York, NY: The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation.
    1. Michaelsen L, Parmelee DX, McMahon KK, Levine RE. Team-Based Learning for Health Professions Education. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing; 2008.
    1. Krisberg K. Flipped classrooms: scrapping lectures in favor of active learning. AAMC News. May 9, 2017. https://news.aamc.org/medical-education/article/flipped-classrooms-scrap.... Accessed October 25, 2017.
    1. Freeman S, Eddy S, McDonough M, et al. Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111:8410–8415. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Stewart D, Brown SD, Clavier CW, Wyatt J. Active-learning processes used in US pharmacy education. Am J Pharm Educ. 2011;75:68. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources