Active learning & different learning approaches Dr. Kosala Marambe Medical Education Unit

What does the term learning mean to you ?

Learning A process resulting in some modification, relatively permanent, of the way of thinking, feeling and doing of the learner (More a behavouristic definition) ( Educational handbook for health personnel. World Health Organization, 1998 )

Stop and think Reflect on your past learning experiences Select the best experience which enabled you to learn that particular thing (may be academic or outside) list out the reasons for why it is so.

Learning Learning is construction of knowledge, based on prior knowledge and new information that is interpreted by prior knowledge. (Cognitive Psychology)

“Teaching methods which place the student in an Active Situation for learning are more likely to be effective than those which do not” George Miller ( Medical educationist)

Two types of learning  Active - Learner takes the responsibility for learning, less dependant on teachers - knows how to learn- life long learner  Passive – Very much dependant on the teacher and expects most to be provided, lectures, lecture notes, questions etc. find difficult to keep abreast with new knowledge

Passive Learning Examples Listening to a lecturer, taking down everything that is told Waiting to be told what to do next following routines without questioning/ reasoning out Teacher is in full control, authoritarian

What is meant by active learning?  That is to say that the learner is taking the initiative for ones’ learning  Teacher is only a guide

Examples Reading text books Discussions Clinical cases of relevance Engaged in practical Observation Projects Teaching others Portfolio

Strategies for active learning  Setting goals  Setting up a plan for what you need to achieve  Developing a table with deadlines  Making decisions  Checking progress  If things are not working right taking remedial measures

Learning aids  Objectives Objectives  Lectures  Practical classes  Patients  Ward work  Discussions  books  Internet  Writing summaries/ answers  Journal articles

Learning approaches of students

Surface approach Student focus their attention on isolated details. They are often trying to memorise these individual details in the same form in which they first appeared

Deep approach Students focus their attention on the underlying meaning or message. They attempt to relate ideas together and construct their own meaning, possibly in relation to their own experience

Strategic Student adopts deep and surface approaches in combination so as to achieve the highest possible marks.

Strategic The approach involves using well organized study methods and careful time management, alertness to cues given by tutors about what they are looking for in deciding grades or marks or what they are going to set in the examinations.

The students are conscious of two separate foci of attention the academic content and the teacher’s reward system. (Marton, Hounsell and Entwistle 1997)

Retaining power of teaching/ learning methods

Factors which facilitate learning  Relevance  Motivation  Feedback  Examinations  Access to multiple resources  Learning environment

A wisdom sloka from Mahabarata  A quarter of our learning comes from our receptors  Own intellect and talent provides a quarter  A quarter from the peers and friends  And the remainder only with time ( UGC 2006 )