Approbation of Self-directed Learning by first year medical students: a mixed method study

Background: One of the primary roles played by Indian medical graduates is to be a lifelong learner. For being a lifelong learner, the students should inculcate the habit of Self-Directed Learning (SDL). Lack of SDL skills among undergraduate medical students is a concern, hence the study was planned to introduce SDL in Physiology to phase-1 undergraduate medical students and assess its effectiveness through students and facultys perceptions. Methodology: The project was commenced after obtaining clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee. The faculty members and students were sensitized on SDL. Feedback questionnaire was framed and the topics for SDL were selected. Six topics were covered as part of the project. The effectiveness of the sessions was evaluated by administering the feedback questionnaire to the students and recording perceptions of the students and faculty on SDL. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data was done. Results: A total of 96 phase-1 students participated in the study. Majority of the students felt that self-directed learning sessions have improved their SDL skills; they are more prepared and aware of their learning strengths and have started taking ownership of their learning. However some students felt the activity was not sufficient and SDL was not useful in improving their analytical skills. Both the students and the faculty were fairly satisfied by this teaching learning innovation. Conclusions: Students and faculty were satisfied with the SDL strategy. SDL has shown to make them independent learner, who are aware of their learning goals and capable of evaluating their learning.