Student-selected courses in a medical school: scope and relationships

Abstract

Background: There is a dearth of reports in the literature of school-wide appraisals of the student-selected approach in medical education.

Aim: This paper appraises the scope of student-selected components in a medical programme and analyses the relationships of achievement and motivation with choices of optional courses.

Method: The prospective study involved 247 students from seven class-cohorts. Statistics checked the differences between groups, as well as the association between the students' academic motivation and achievement with the extent of their selections between optional courses and peer-tutoring activity.

Results: Most students explored multiple options, including pre-clinical, clinical and non-medical subjects among the domains of learning experienced. A fifth of them earned more student-selected credits from optional courses than the requisite minimum. Twenty courses accounted for 80.2% of optional-course enrolments. Choices between optional courses and peer-tutoring activity reflected distinct learner features. Five variables–selective-credits need, achievement, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, and (negatively) peer-tutoring activity and intrinsic motivation to accomplish–explained 43% of the variability in optional-course credits. Nevertheless, a higher-level blend of optional-course and peer-tutoring selections related to greater cognitive achievement and intrinsic motivation.

Conclusions: This work describes the variety of responses in extent and type of choices in a mix-option approach to student-selected credits. The findings suggest interrelationships of achievement and motivation toward purposeful blending of student-selected educational activities.

Notes

Notes

1. One credit amounts to 15 hours of teaching-learning activities.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dejano T. Sobral

DEIANO T, SOBRAL, MD, is a former Dean at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasilia, Brazil. His research interest is in student learning and reflection, motivation and career choice. His current teaching is foremost within the course “Educational Methodology in Medical Sciences”.