Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ensure that students can assess they encourage discourse and gen- their peers and sharing their ideas
their level of understanding. eration of contrasting hypothe- prepared them better. Faculty us-
In the classroom, learning can ses. Time must be allowed for ing a flipped-classroom approach
be facilitated by the instructor, students to work in groups to often feel liberated from the tyr-
anny of the requirement to “cover” believe an interactive lecture- In our daily lives as clinicians, we
everything. Since acquisition of style format should remain an aim to create a culture of con-
information is accomplished by option and can be an effective tinuous quality improvement. We
the student outside class, interac- teaching tool. should strive to create the same
tions between teachers and stu- As we look to the future of culture in our educational lives.
dents can focus on content that medical education, we believe it’s Disclosure forms provided by the authors
is difficult to understand and on important to avoid zealotry with are available at NEJM.org.
the application of new concepts respect to pedagogical approach- From the Division of Pulmonary, Critical
to real-world problems. es, including the insistence that Care, and Sleep Medicine, Beth Israel Dea-
So is the lecture dead? If team-based learning methods coness Medical Center, and Harvard Medi-
cal School — both in Boston.
“lecture” refers to the traditional must adhere to specific criteria
picture of a professor standing or that no deviation from pure 1. Straumsheim C. Become a doctor, no
in front of and talking at a large problem-based learning is al- lectures required. Inside Higher Ed. Septem-
ber 26, 2016 (https://w ww.insidehighered
group of students who are pas- lowed. We can often serve our .com/news/2016/09/26/u-vermont-medical
sively absorbing information, then students best by fusing elements -school-get-rid-all-lecture-courses).
yes, we believe medical schools of various methods, such as team- 2. Brown PC, Roediger HL III, McDaniel
MA. Make it stick:the science of successful
should be largely abandoning that based or case-based learning and learning. Cambridge, MA:Harvard Univer-
teaching format. But if it de- interactive large-group learning sity Press, 2014.
scribes large-group interactive sessions, rather than feeling ob 3. de Jong T. Cognitive load theory, educa-
tional research, and instructional design:
learning sessions with students liged to adhere to a particular some food for thought. Instr Sci 2010;38:
who have prepared in advance, format. But we must also use evi- 105-34.
with frequent ques- dence-based approaches when- 4. Roberts DH, Newman LR, Schwartz
An audio interview stein RM. Twelve tips for facilitating Millen-
tions directed at ever possible and rigorously nials’ learning. Med Teach 2012;34:274-8.
with Dr. Schwartzstein
is available at NEJM.org the audience, time evaluate our innovations, acknowl- 5. Krupat E, Richards JB, Sullivan AM,
set aside for group edging that important outcomes Fleenor TJ Jr, Schwartzstein RM. Assessing
the effectiveness of case-based collaborative
discussion, and use of audience- may include student engagement learning via randomized controlled trial.
response systems (to poll students and problem-solving skills, team Acad Med 2016;91:723-9.
on a question to assess for under- dynamics, and the learning envi- DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1706474
standing, for example), then we ronment as much as exam scores. Copyright © 2017 Massachusetts Medical Society.
Saying Goodbye to Lectures in Medical School