Abstract
IntroductionThe learning environment refers to the physical, pedagogical, and psychosocial contexts in which learning occurs and critically influences the educational experience of trainees in the health professions. However, the manner in which individual faculty explicitly organize the educational setting to facilitate learning of essential competencies such as critical thinking deserves more examination; lack of attention to this component can undermine the formal curriculum. The purpose of our study was to examine how faculty shape the learning environment to advance their learners’ development of critical thinking.MethodsWe took a constructivist grounded theory approach using the framework method for qualitative content analysis. Data were derived from interviews conducted with 44 faculty identified as skilled teachers of critical thinking at eight academic health professions institutions.ResultsThree major themes emerged regarding participants’ descriptions of their experiences of how they optimized the learning environment to support critical thinking: 1) Setting the atmosphere (establishing ground rules, focusing on process rather than answers, and building trust), 2) Maintaining the climate (gently pushing learners, tolerating discomfort, and adjusting to learner level), and 3) Weathering the storm (responses to challenges to learning critical thinking, including time and effort, negative evaluations, and resistance to effortful learning).DiscussionAn optimal learning environment for critical thinking was actively created by faculty to establish a safe environment and shared understanding of expectations. Understanding how to produce a conducive learning climate is paramount in teaching essential topics such as critical thinking. These findings have potential utility for faculty development initiatives to optimize the learning environment.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s40037-019-00536-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The learning environment refers to the physical, pedagogical, and psychosocial contexts in which learning occurs and critically influences the educational experience of trainees in the health professions
An optimal learning environment for critical thinking was actively created by faculty to establish a safe environment and shared understanding of expectations
While consideration of the learning environment is a vital ingredient to how students learn skills, the literature has not specified how expert faculty actively shape the learning environment in daily teaching interactions to promote critical thinking
Summary
The learning environment refers to the physical, pedagogical, and psychosocial contexts in which learning occurs and critically influences the educational experience of trainees in the health professions. The manner in which individual faculty explicitly organize the educational setting to facilitate learning of essential competencies such as critical thinking deserves more examination; lack of attention to this component can undermine the formal curriculum. Critical thinking is arguably a cornerstone for health professionals in delivering patient care and is relevant for faculty-learner interactions during decision-making. It offers an entryway into examining how faculty shape the learning environment when teaching this important competency
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