Awareness and usage of evidence-based learning strategies among health professions students and faculty

Abstract

Introduction: Learning is essential and life-long for faculty and students. Often students and teachers use ineffective learning strategies and are not aware of evidence-based strategies.

Methods: A multicenter, international, cross-sectional, online survey-based assessment of awareness of evidence-based learning strategies among health professions students (n = 679) and faculty (n = 205).

Results: Students endorsed many study habits which violate evidence-based principles, including studying whatever is due soonest (389/679, 57%), failing to return to course material once a course has ended (465/679, 68%), and re-reading underlined or highlighted notes (298.679, 44%). While the majority of faculty surveyed (125/157, 80%) reported recommending effective study strategies for their students, most students (558/679, 82%) said they did not study the way they do because of instruction from faculty. The majority of faculty (142/156, 91%) and students (347/661, 53%) believe students have different learning styles.

Discussion: The results of this study demonstrate health professions students continue to use many ineffective study strategies, and both students and faculty hold misconceptions about evidence-based learning. While planning a curriculum, medical educators should focus on teaching students how to learn and use higher order thinking procedures in addition to teaching content.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Alexandre Holthausen, Dr. Andrew Budson and Johanna Gutlerner for great academical advice in this project and Angel Cronin for statistical support in this study.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Glossary

Metacognition: Is an individual’s awareness of his or her own cognitive processes. With respect to learning, this can be interpreted as an individual’s awareness of what they have and have not learned. Metacognition is essential for learners in order to self-regulate and guide learning (Seel 2012a).

Evidence-based learning: Describes a class of approaches, processes, and strategies that have been empirically demonstrated to produce learning outcomes (Seel 2012b).

Learning styles: Is widely used to describe how learners gather, sift through, interpret, organize, come to conclusions about, and ‘store’ information for further use. Despite the popularity of learning styles and inventories, it is important to know that there is no evidence to support the idea that matching activities to one’s learning style improves learning (Chick and Director 2016).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Felipe Piza

Felipe Piza, MD, PhD, MEd, earned his degree in Masters of Medical Sciences in Medical Education at Harvard Medical School, where he contributes as a medical educator consultant. He is a critical care physician at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil where he is responsible for faculty development.

Jennifer Cohn Kesselheim

Jennifer Cohn Kesselheim, MD, MBE, Med, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School where she directs the Master of Medical Sciences (MMSc) in Medical Education program.

Juliette Perzhinsky

Juliette Perzhinsky is an Associate Professor at Central Michigan University College of Medicine. She earned her medical degree from Wayne State University and completed an Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Pittsburgh. She also holds a master’s degree in research design and statistics and fellowship training in patient safety.

Joanna Drowos

Joanna Drowos, DO, MPH, MBA, is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Director for the Community and Preventive Medicine Clerkship and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University.

Roni Gillis

Roni Gillis, B.Med.Sc, is a Medical Student at Ben Gurion University of The Negev, Israel (BGU); Fellow at Moshe Prywes center for medical education; faculty member at BGU; teaching assistant in the Medical Genetics and Physical Examination courses at the Goldman medical school and the MSIH medical school, BGU.

Khen Moscovici

Khen Moscovici, B.Med.Sc, is a Medical and Masters of public health student at Goldman medical school, Ben Gurion University of The Negev, Israel; Fellow at Moshe Prywes center for medical education; and a senior team member at the digital teaching team.

Theodora E. Danciu

Theodora E. Danciu, is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and a consultant for the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. She received her DMD and Doctor of Medical Sciences degrees and completed an oral and maxillofacial pathology residency training at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

Agnieszka Kosowska

Agnieszka Kosowska, MSc, PhD, is Research Assistant at Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine in Katowice at Medical University of Silesia in Poland.

Holly Gooding

Holly Gooding, is an internal and adolescent medicine physician at Emory University School of Medicine and co-director of the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators in the Health Professions. Her research focuses on young adult development and professional identify formation for medical educators.