Changes in Study Strategies of Medical Students between Basic Science Courses and Clerkships Are Associated with Performance

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that medical students change their study strategies when transitioning from basicscience courses to clerkships, and that their study practices are associated with performance scores. Factor scoresfor three approaches to studying (construction, rote, and review) generated from student (n=150) responses to aquestionnaire were correlated to examination and clinical performance scores. Composite factor scores werecompared using a paired t-test and sign test to examine changes in study practices as students transitioned frombasic science courses to clerkships. The construction approach to studying was more likely to have a positive andstronger relationship to examination scores in both courses and clerkships, but showed no significantassociations with clinical performance scores. Our analyses indicated that students are more likely to increasetheir use of study practices associated with construction of knowledge as they transition from courses toclerkships. Although learning is a complex endeavor, students employing construction study strategies are morelikely to outperform their peers who rely mostly on rote and review practices. Transitioning from basic sciencecourses to the clerkships students tend to utilize more construction study practices suggesting that students areresponsive to their learning environments when selecting study strategies.