Experiential learning: How pedagogy is changing in medical education

Debkumar Pal; Manish Taywade; Kumbha Gopi

doi:10.4103/cmi.cmi_35_22

MEDICAL EDUCATION

Year : 2022 | Volume : 20 | Issue : 3 | Page : 198-200

Experiential learning: How pedagogy is changing in medical education

Debkumar Pal, Manish Taywade, Kumbha Gopi
Department of Community Medicine and Family Medicine, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Date of Submission	30-Mar-2022
Date of Decision	15-Apr-2022
Date of Acceptance	26-Apr-2022
Date of Web Publication	01-Aug-2022

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Manish Taywade
Department of Community Medicine and Family Medicine, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
India

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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DOI: 10.4103/cmi.cmi_35_22

Abstract

Kolb's cycle of experiential learning is the new method of pedagogy for medical education. It is helpful in the integration of book knowledge and practical knowledge, which is an essential component in competency-based medical education. Experiential learning is helpful for students and more interesting also for them.

Keywords: Experiential learning, medical education, medical students, pedagogy

How to cite this article:
Pal D, Taywade M, Gopi K. Experiential learning: How pedagogy is changing in medical education. Curr Med Issues 2022;20:198-200

How to cite this URL:
Pal D, Taywade M, Gopi K. Experiential learning: How pedagogy is changing in medical education. Curr Med Issues [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 Jun 7];20:198-200. Available from: https://www.cmijournal.org/text.asp?2022/20/3/198/352976

Introduction

From the beginning of medical education, the traditional teaching method is going on with less integration between book knowledge and practical knowledge.^[1] In medical education, this integration is required, where a student learns things in class and performs the activity during the time of service provided to the patients. To become a five-star doctor (community leader, decision-maker, service provider, manager, and communicator), a medical student must learn both theory and practical aspects.^[2]

Competency-Based Medical Education

Currently, in most countries, problem-based learning is mandatory. The competency-based medical education (CBME) introduced by the Medical Council of India (now known as the National Medical Commission) clearly emphasizes this CBME.^[3]

Why is Competency-Based Medical Education Required?

With the traditional teaching–learning method, students can gain knowledge quickly, but there would be difficulty in becoming a five-star doctor as knowledge is not being disseminated in practice.^[4] To counteract the issue from Flexnerian traditions, we are shifting toward CBME.^[5],[6] The integration of knowledge with practice could be achieved by experiential learning. In CBME, there would be an amalgamation of the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains.^[7]

Problem-Based Learning and Experiential Learning

Problem-based learning was first implemented on a large scale by McMaster University in Canada in the 1960s, which was later followed by medical schools in Europe and America.^[8] It can be said that experiential learning is an extension of problem-based learning when a case- or scenario-oriented student-directed pedagogy helps in gaining experience in the long term. In its continuation, there will be a reflection upon own work, and there will be the implementation of the learning in practice.^[9]

How is the Concept of Experiential Learning Came?

Experiential learning is the teaching–learning method where students learn by performing skills and by reflecting on experience. The theory of experiential learning was surfaced by David A. Kolb in 1984.^[10]

How Does Experiential Learning Work?

Concreate experience: Learner encounters a new experience or engages in a reinterpretation process of an existing experience
Reflective observation: The learner reviews and reflects on the new experience and identifies any inconsistencies between experience and understanding
Abstract conceptualization: The learner creates a new idea/concept or modifies an existing abstract concept by analyzing the concepts and forming conclusions and generalizations
Active experimentation: Learner plans and tries out what was learned and can apply the new knowledge to other situations. Conclusions and generalizations are used to test hypotheses, and thus, the learner engages in new experiences. [Figure 1] depicts the process of experiential learning.

Figure 1: How experiential learning works.

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Why is Experiential Learning Required?

In CBME, the learning is self-directed and self-motivated.^[11] It is already known that self-directed learning is more useful for students of all fields, as it causes active engagement among learners that will help in an increased level of learning.^[12] Experiential learning is found to benefit the learners with respect to CBME. It also increases interest and learning level among students.^[13] The different other benefits from experiential learning can be enlisted below:^[14],[15]

Within the same period, the learning could be finished by gaining both theory and practical knowledge
Patient care will be more attached to the learning in medical schools
The subject chosen for postgraduation will be helped for undergraduates.

Do Students Think that Experiential Learning is a Benefit for Them?

In AIIMS Bhubaneswar, one lecture class was organized by the Department of Community Medicine and Family Medicine for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students for 1 h. The topic of the class was outbreak investigation. In the class, one virtual scenario was given to the student regarding one outbreak. The students were distributed in small groups, and they did the investigation virtually, followed by being taught regarding their mistakes. Then, they did the outbreak investigation activity for another scenario successfully. At the end of the class, their feedback was taken, and the result is depicted below. The feedback was taken on a scale of 1–10, where 1 is the lowest score related to the benefit of this class and 10 is the highest score related to the benefit of this class. The result is presented in [Table 1].

Table 1: Rating given by the students regarding the outbreak management class

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A similar result was also found by Ti et al. regarding the learning of endotracheal intubation, where the experiential learning group performed endotracheal intubation better in comparison to the guided group (64.5% vs. 36.9%, P < 0.001).^[16] In another study done by Zhao et al. regarding the effectiveness of the combined problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning (CBL), it was found that in PBL–CBL group, the mean total quiz score, the basic knowledge, and case analysis scores increased significantly (P < 0.001) along with significant performance improvement in comparison with the traditional groups (increasing from 52.76 to 70.51 versus from 67.03 to 71.97).^[4]

Conclusion

From the initial days of medical education, traditional teaching has given more focus to knowledge based on books. However, with progression in time and the appearance of the concept of CBME, it is high time for students to go beyond the bookish knowledge and integrate both book and practical knowledge. This integration could be easily achievable by experiential learning, which was found effective and interesting.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

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