The contributions of transformative learning to the competency-based education of medical students

Objectives To investigate the influence of transfomative leaning on the development of the abilities such as critical thinking of medical students by introducing it into the course of medical immunology.Methods Medical students of 7-year program were divided randomly into two groups,the experimental group and the control group,130 persons each.The control group was taught with lectures and case analysis while the experimental group adopted transfomative learning in addition to the lectures.The result of teaching was evaluated with the final examination,critical thinking assessment before and after class as well as questionnaires.Student-t test was used for statistical analysis.Results The average score of experimental group in the final examination of medical immunology was (77.43 ± 12.82) and that of control group was (75.36 ± 15.21).The difference between the two groups had no statistical significance(P=0.29).In critical thinking assessment at the beginning of the course,students of the experimental group achieved(59.73 ± 13.15) while those of the control group obtained(60.29 ± 11.24); the two groups scored(61.92 ± 16.07) and (59.72 ± 16.07),respectively in the test at the end of the course.There were no significant difference in both test(P value was 0.72 and 0.55,respectively).The grading of the course in promoting critical thinking,communi-cation skills,openness thought,and humanistic and social perspectives of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group(P value was 0.00).Conclusion Transfomative learning helps the fomation of humanistic and social perspectives,openness to different opinion,as well as the development of critical thinking and communication skills.Thus,it is an effective way for the competency-based education of medical students. Key words: Transformative learning;  Medical students;  Professional competency;  Medical immunology