Medical schools should frequently evaluate students' perceptions of the educational environment and adapt methods flexibly¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 quant-synthesis), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Based on their finding that the educational environment is dynamic and influenced by many factors, the authors recommend that medical schools "evaluate their students' perceptions of the medical educational environment frequently, and develop educational methods with flexibility and the effectiveness necessary to accommodate the challenges they face". This treats environment measurement (e.g., DREEM) as an ongoing diagnostic practice rather than a one-time evaluation, with teaching methods adjusted in response.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A validated environment measure such as DREEM administered repeatedly

Constraints¶

• Stated in the context of medical education

Target Learners¶

• medical students

Target Learning Goals¶

• quality of the medical educational environment

Claims¶

• Evidence for PBL's DREEM advantage comes from six small Chinese RCTs with randomization and blinding weaknesses [+W]
• The pooled PBL advantage on DREEM was robust in sensitivity analyses excluding the largest, heaviest, and smallest studies [+W]
• PBL outperformed LBL on all five DREEM subscales, including perceptions of teachers and social self-perceptions [+W]
• PBL is associated with higher overall DREEM medical educational environment scores than LBL in randomized trials [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Recommendation: evaluate PBL effectiveness through multicenter primary studies comparing educational centers, cultures, and psychological adaptation factors
• Evaluate constructivist learning environments with a multi-directional approach covering non-cognitive variables alongside achievement

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Qin Yongjie, Wang Yungui, Floden Robert E. (2016). The Effect of Problem-Based Learning on Improvement of the Medical Educational Environment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Medical Principles and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1159/000449036