How Will Students Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn?

• In Event: The GPS of Medical Knowledge for the 21st Century

Abstract

Future students/trainees will learn in an environment where medical knowledge continues to expand exponentially. The future will involve individuals learning, unlearning and re-learning as an inevitable consequence of the expansion of knowledge. Can we glean insights from current theories of learning that will help us understand the future of learning? Concepts and constructs from the work of Piaget, Vygotsky and conceptual change theorists influenced the development of learning theories (1) and continue to permeate contemporary discourses. Learning theories from a constructivist tradition bring attention to the difficulties of reconciling learning as an individual cognitive activity and as a social activity, during the process of acculturation into the practices of medicine. Paradigm shifts in some scientific fields of knowledge and disruptive technologies are increasingly common. Thus, conceptual change for individuals in hitherto stable fields of knowledge is necessary. Contemporary theories provide insights into unlearning and re-learning to adapt to this necessity.
Does seminal work on teaching by luminaries in the education field hold relevance for future learning? The myriad forms of knowledge required by educators (2) remains relevant and emphasises the importance of continuing efforts to educate clinical teachers. Contemporary thinkers in education/learning/teaching also suggest clues for navigating a way forward. There is evidence that theories of mindsets and beliefs about intelligence (3) influence student learning (4) and responses to obstacles faced in learning. Developing skills in learning a range of self-regulatory behaviours (5) are likely to be part of an increasingly important critical repertoire of re-learning for the future student/trainee. Growing evidence on learning strategies, of which ‘spaced practice’ (6) is one of many, needs to be understood by both students and educators. Theories of intelligence, concepts of self-regulation, and more effective strategies are some of the contemporary understandings that have an impact on analysing learning in medicine, to adapt to the shifting healthcare landscape. These understandings influence the design and use of adaptive technologies (7) and other technologies in development which require adjusting ways of not only learning knowledge, but managing, and, ultimately, assessing knowledge.
In summary, this presentation will draw upon useful (and not so useful) concepts from learning theories and contemporary thinking. Ways in which some simple and some complex concepts can provide a helpful lens for understanding how future students/trainees learn will be explored. This understanding will underpin discussion and exploration of implications for teaching and assessment of knowledge in the future. Suggestions for ways in which educators might change the design and implementation of learning will be proposed and analysed for value in a future world.

Author

• Sandra Joy Kemp, Curtin University