ADOPTING LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACH IN TEACHING PHYSIOLOGY

Adopting Learner-Centered

Abstract

A paradigm shift has occurred in education
from providing instruction to produce learning.
An innovation in medical education is not a very
simple task. In last few decades, knowledge
about cognitive processes and teaching and
learning strategies has been gathered to
determine the most effective way to teach1.
Scientific evidence favors that active student
participation leads to schema formation,
consolidation of new knowledge, retrieval of
information and improvement in learning
outcomes2. In addition, literature has proved the
concept that information must be given
simultaneously in multisensory modalities,
substantial amount of data specifies that the most
efficient way of teaching physiology to a diverse
group of students consists in providing
information in a mode that focuses multiple
learning styles benefiting visual, auditory and
kinesthetic learners3. According to Olson’s “And,
But, Therefore” approach, “Physiology is the
basic foundation of all the health professions
AND physiology can be hard for students to
figure out BUT many physiology courses expect
students to memorize a large number of facts;
THEREFORE, my scholarship is to help students
learn physiology better for the long-term with
various types of student centered learning
opportunities4.”
Student centered techniques can be
incorporated both in large group interactive
sessions and small groups in order to direct them
towards meaningful learning and promoting
critical thinking and decision making skills
among students2,5. The achievement of any
teaching session lies in planning the strategies
which allows the students to gain maximum
meaningful knowledge in the short time period
and in this regard students are the best judges to
assess the efficacy of the teaching session and
assessment methodology3. The General Medical
Council in the United Kingdom suggests that
learning must be “a process in which students are
responsible for organizing and managing their
own learning activities and needs6.”
In medical colleges students come from
different social and cultural background so more
versatile approach to teaching/ learning activities
could be used to increase their involvement. Use
of techniques like problem based learning (PBL),
Case based discussions (CBD), and team based
learning (TBL) in order to increase not only
their communication, collaborative learning or
interpersonal skills but also their decision making
and critical thinking skills3,6. “Flipped classroom”
approach can also be used to focus learning
instead of passive listening to teachers in class
room, reading books, collecting lecture notes
because this way learners could play an active
role in their learning process when confronted
with situations showing real life problems2.
The ultimate goal of education is to ensure
that students can be transformed into most
effective deliverers of patient care and to achieve
this purpose we have to provide students with
better learning opportunities that will facilitate
the development of knowledge that is relevant
and meaningful to clinical practice.