Although nothing in didactic form approaches the learning experience of the real world, the educational process up to graduation is based on a teacher-directed model of learning. Active engagement in self-planned learning activities tends to be more effective than passive learning. Lifelong learning involves finding and implementing solutions to everyday problems encountered in the clinic, emergency room, and operating room and on the wards. The process by which much of this education occurs is via self-directed learning, in which learners challenge themselves to pursue activities that arise from their own experiences using their own emerging styles. The acquisition of self-directed learning is a complex process that involves numerous skills and competencies relied upon to complete challenges.
Professors are fond of telling graduates, “This is just the beginning of your education, not the end.” Nothing in didactic form approaches the learning experience of the real world, in which there are no textbooks, no lesson plans, and no teacher to fall back on. Many early decisions are based on a teacher’s transplanted wisdom. Often the transition is abrupt; the educational process up to graduation is based on a teacher-directed model of learning, for which there is no direct continuity in practice. Currently, there are multiple, instructor-led resources for long-term learning, including opportunities for continuing medical education (CME) from annual national and regional professional meetings, home study courses, audio digests, and online reviews.
This article, however, is not about formal, teacher-directed learning activities, such as lectures and CME. The reality is that instructor-led CME activity, although valuable, represents not only an artificial learning environment but also a relatively ineffective one at that . Active engagement in self-planned learning activities tends to be more effective than passive learning, which commonly characterizes formal CME. Most lifelong learning is problem specific and occurs in the context of real experience: the clinic, on an Internet search engine at night, or over the phone with a colleague—those conversations that invariably begin, “I got this guy….” Lifelong learning involves finding and implementing solutions to everyday problems encountered in the clinic, emergency room, and operating room and on the wards. The process by which much of this education occurs is via self-directed learning (SDL). According to Gibbons , a paradigm shift in instruction is “teaching students to challenge themselves to pursue activities that arise from their own experiences, employing their own emerging styles to find patterns of meaning and processes of productivity that lead them to a high level of achievement and fulfillment. The prime imperative…is not to enhance teacher-directed learning, but to develop a more student-directed model.”
What is self-directed learning?
Hammond and Collins describe SDL as “a process in which learners take the initiative, with the support and collaboration of others. For increasing self- and social awareness; critically analyzing and reflecting on their situations; diagnosing their learning needs with specific reference to competencies they have helped identify; formulating socially and personally relevant learning goals; identifying human and material resources for learning; choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies; and reflecting on and evaluating their learning.” This humanistic characterization of SDL implies a sense of social awareness and responsibility, self-actualization, and the acceptance of personal responsibility for one’s own learning.
The acquisition of SDL is a complex process that involves numerous skills and competencies relied on to complete challenges, such as medical school and residency. Unlike the classroom setting, in which the emphasis is on mastery of content, SDL emphasizes personal action taken to become more productive. Testing is no longer an issue, but performance certainly is. Many authors have identified SDL as essential to continuing education efforts in adults .
Not everyone is ready to accomplish SDL, however, because certain traits are essential for becoming a successful, productive person. Candy synthesized an essential character list from more than 100 such traits ( Box 1 ).
- •
Being methodical and disciplined
- •
Being logical and analytical
- •
Being reflective and self-aware
- •
Demonstrating curiosity, openness, and motivation
- •
Being flexible
- •
Being interdependent and interpersonally competent
- •
Being persistent and responsible
- •
Being venturesome and creative
- •
Showing confidence and having a positive self-concept
- •
Being independent and self-sufficient
- •
Having developed information-seeking and retrieval skills
- •
Having developed knowledge about—and skill at—learning generally
- •
Developing and using defensible criteria for evaluating learning
Generally, SDL is not limited to specific settings but can occur as a part of any process and include formal learning activities. Among Tough’s factors are three common patterns in independent study: (1) a specified learning need, (2) curiosity, and (3) general desire to learn. Houle described three groups of adult learners: (1) goal oriented, (2) activity oriented, and (3) learning oriented. Of these types, many practicing physicians clearly fall into the first category, because they frequently embark on a learning project to acquire new procedural skills or become familiar with new medications or updates in coding and reimbursement schedules, for example.
The challenge model of self-directed learning
Possibly the most influential essay on SDL is “The Walkabout” by Maurice Gibbons, which was published in the 1974 edition of the Phi Delta Kappan . At the heart of the essay is the story of two children lost in the desert wilderness of the Australian outback. Facing certain death, the two are found and cared for by a young aborigine on his walkabout, a 6-month endurance test during which he must survive alone in the wilderness and return to his tribe an adult. Gibbons surveys the ramifications of the story from a societal standpoint:
“The movie is a haunting comment on education. What I find most provocative is the stark contrast between the aborigine’s walkabout experience and the test of adolescent’s readiness for adulthood in our own society. The young native faces a severe but extremely appropriate trial, one in which he must demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to make him a contributor to the tribe rather than a drain on its meager resources. By contrast, the young North American is faced with written examinations that test skills very far removed from the actual experience he will have in real life. He solves familiar theoretical problems; he does not apply what he knows in strange but real situations. His preparation is primarily for the mastery of content and skills in the disciplines and has little to do with reaching maturity, achieving adulthood, or developing fully as a person .”
The walkabout model is applicable to the learning required by the practicing physician. First, it should be experiential and the experience should be “hands on.” Second, it should be a challenge that extends the capacities of the learner. Third, it should be a challenge specific to or—even better—designed by the learner. A productive learning experience depends on the learner’s ability to make appropriate choices, but in most teacher-directed situations the student is not called on to make any meaningful choices. “The test of the walkabout, and of life, is not what (the learner) can do under a teacher’s direction, but what the teacher has enabled him to decide and to do on his own .” Most importantly, the trial should be an important learning experience in itself and should involve not only the demonstration of the student’s knowledge and skill but also self-awareness, flexibility, and personal nature.
The challenge model of self-directed learning
Possibly the most influential essay on SDL is “The Walkabout” by Maurice Gibbons, which was published in the 1974 edition of the Phi Delta Kappan . At the heart of the essay is the story of two children lost in the desert wilderness of the Australian outback. Facing certain death, the two are found and cared for by a young aborigine on his walkabout, a 6-month endurance test during which he must survive alone in the wilderness and return to his tribe an adult. Gibbons surveys the ramifications of the story from a societal standpoint:
“The movie is a haunting comment on education. What I find most provocative is the stark contrast between the aborigine’s walkabout experience and the test of adolescent’s readiness for adulthood in our own society. The young native faces a severe but extremely appropriate trial, one in which he must demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to make him a contributor to the tribe rather than a drain on its meager resources. By contrast, the young North American is faced with written examinations that test skills very far removed from the actual experience he will have in real life. He solves familiar theoretical problems; he does not apply what he knows in strange but real situations. His preparation is primarily for the mastery of content and skills in the disciplines and has little to do with reaching maturity, achieving adulthood, or developing fully as a person .”
The walkabout model is applicable to the learning required by the practicing physician. First, it should be experiential and the experience should be “hands on.” Second, it should be a challenge that extends the capacities of the learner. Third, it should be a challenge specific to or—even better—designed by the learner. A productive learning experience depends on the learner’s ability to make appropriate choices, but in most teacher-directed situations the student is not called on to make any meaningful choices. “The test of the walkabout, and of life, is not what (the learner) can do under a teacher’s direction, but what the teacher has enabled him to decide and to do on his own .” Most importantly, the trial should be an important learning experience in itself and should involve not only the demonstration of the student’s knowledge and skill but also self-awareness, flexibility, and personal nature.
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
