From Surface Memorization to Layered Understanding in the Professional Health Sciences

• In Event: 31.040 - Learning Strategies for Diverse Learners in the Health Sciences

Abstract

Students transitioning to the competitive professional health sciences are challenged with increased information through lectures, print and online texts. They must acquire, maintain, and demonstrate an extraordinary amount of material. Study and learning strategies that were previously rewarded with high grades in undergraduate school may not successfully transfer to the medical, dental and veterinary medical school curricula. In an analysis of preclinical students’ coping and achievement strategies, Niemi and Vainiomaki conclude that the majority of the students respond to academic distress by studying harder (2009). However, studying harder or longer using the same methods, may lead to increased frustration but little reward for the effort. Niemi and Vainiomaki suggest that “the majority of students are ready for self-reflection, motivated to receive more feedback about themselves, and ready to establish contacts with medical educators.” (p. 133)
This observation is consistent with data on help-seeking behavior collected at the Weingarten Learning Resources Center at the University of Pennsylvania. During academic year 2013-2014, 35% of the students participating in its academic support programs and services were graduate and professional students. Students who were enrolled in the professional health sciences accounted for 10% of this graduate group. Not surprising, their primary concerns centered on time management, exam preparation, and taking exams.
A method of academic support that has been positively received by these students has been the collaborative “deconstruction” of a recently taken exam. Working with a learning specialist, the student is first asked to reflect on questions that were answered correctly, focusing on the process used to study the material. This provides personal feedback on successful study methods that may include talking with the professor or a peer, self-testing for that topic, expanding knowledge through online or supplemental texts or connecting new knowledge with previous learning or experience. Next, the student is asked to reflect on the questions that s/he answered incorrectly and, following a rubric developed from that used by Saks et al. (1998), determine the reason for the error. Most often, the source of the error can be traced to difficulty applying or analyzing the studied material.
In order to support the student in moving from rote memorization to studying for application, Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) has proven to be a useful heuristic, providing both a visual and conceptual framework. Although its original purpose was to serve as a reference for educators as a “multi-tiered model of classifying thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity,” (Forehand, 2012,) it has become a useful tool for supporting students as they move through increasingly complex levels of thinking. Using this descriptive taxonomy as a framework, health science students recognize the need for building a strong foundation of understanding, with the goal of applying the information to authentic situations, analyzing the relationship of constituent parts, and making evaluative judgments. Through this metacognitive exercise, students can determine the level of thinking required by a question, better anticipate questions when studying, and, ultimately, achieve a more complex level of understanding and problem-solving as they move from novice to professional.

Author

• Myrna L. Cohen, University of Pennsylvania