Articles

Study Guides: Effective Tools to Improve Self-Directed Learning Skills of Medical Students

Abstract

In medicine, there is a rapid development of a knowledge base. Medical professionals need to sustain and advance their competence to practice in response to these varieties. So, there is increased interest in self-directed learning methods. Study guides can make a major contribution to self-directed learning. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of study guides on improving self-learning skills of medical students in the Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS). In this quasi-experimental study, 46 medical students were randomly assigned into two groups; the intervention group and the control group. Both groups participated in a diagnostic test at the beginning of the course (pre-test). The same test was taken at the end of the course (post-test). The intervention group was provided with study guides on thyroid disorders and diabetes. Meanwhile, they continued their routine clinical training. The control group was only involved in the conventional training program. Students in the intervention group were also asked to complete a designed questionnaire in regard to their attitude toward the study guides. At enrollment, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The mean scores of the pre-test for the control group and the intervention group were 6.18 and 6.13 respectively (P=0.9). In the post-test, the mean score of the students in the intervention group was considerably higher: 9.25 vs. 12 (P=0.002). The students in the intervention group found the study guides useful. The study guides were potentially effective in motivating self-learning in this group of medical students and had a remarkable effect on their final score.

Tight M. Lifelong Learning: Opportunity or Compulsion? Br J Educ Stud 1998;46(3):251-63.

Misch DA. Andragogy and medical education: are medical students internally motivated to learn? Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract 2002;7(2):153-60.

Tagawa M. Physician self-directed learning and education. The Kaohsiung J Med Sci 2008;24(7):380-5.

Fleet LJ, Kirby F, Cutler S, et al. Continuing professional development and social accountability: a review of the literature. J Interprof Care 2008;22(Suppl 1):15-29.

Rajashekhar H, Kodkany B, Naik V, et al. Evidence based medicine and its impact on medical education. Indian J Anesth 2002;46(2):96-103.

Glasziou P, Burls A, Gilbert R. Evidence based medicine and the medical curriculum. BMJ 2008;337(7672):a1253.

Holsgrove GJ, Lanphear JH, Ledingham IM. Study guides: an essential student learning tool in an integratedcurriculum. Med Teach 1998;20(2):99-103.

Laidlaw J, Harden RM. What is… a study guide? Med Teach 1990;12(1):7-12.

Harden RM, Laidlaw J, Hesketh E. AMEE Medical Education Guide No 16: Study guides-their use and preparation. Med Teach 1999;21(3):248-65.

Dickson K, Miller M, Devoley M. Effect of textbook study guides on student performance in introductory psychology. Teach of Psycho 2005;32(1):34-9.

Hollier LM, Cox SM, McIntire D, et al. Effect of a Resident-Created Study Guide on Examination Scores. Med Teach 2002;99(1):95-100.

Suggs PK, Mittelmark MB, Krissak R, et al. Efficacy of a self-instruction package when compared with a traditional continuing education offering for nurses. J Contin Educ Health Prof 1998;18(4):220-6.

Yalcin BM, Karahan TF, Karadenizli D, Sahin EM. Shortterm effects of problem-based learning curriculum on students' self-directed skills development. Roat Med J 2006;47(3):491-8.

Considine J, Botti M, Thomas S. Effect of a self-directed learning package on emergency nurses’ knowledge of assessment of oxygenation and use of supplemental oxygen. Nurs Health Sci 2005;7(3):199-208.

Tippett J. Nurses’ acquisition and retention of knowledge after trauma training. Int Emerg Nurs 2004;12(1):39-46.

Bird A, Wallis M. Nursing knowledge and assessmentskills in the management of patients receiving analgesia via epidural infusion. J Adv Nurs 2002;40(5):522-31.

Pepple DJ, Young LF, Carroll RG. A comparison of student performance in multiple-choice and long essay questions in the MBBS stage I physiology examination at the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus). Adv Physiol Educ 2010;34(2):86-9

Moqattash S, Harris PF, Gumaa KA, et al. Assessment of basic medical sciences in an integrated systems-based curriculum. Clin Anat 1995;8(2):139-47.

Khogali SE, Laidlaw JM, Harden RM. Study guides: a study of different formats. Med Teach 2006;28(4):375-7.

Files
IssueVol 52, No 10 (2014) QRcode
SectionArticles
Keywords
Study guide Self-directed learning Medical student Lifelong learning
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Khabaz Mafinejad M, Aghili R, Emami Z, Malek M, Baradaran H, Taghavinia M, Khamseh ME. Study Guides: Effective Tools to Improve Self-Directed Learning Skills of Medical Students. Acta Med Iran. 1;52(10):781-785.