Research-Teaching Linkages: Beyond the Divide in Undergraduate Medicine

Abstract

This survey-based study investigates the plausibility of the existence of a research-teaching nexus specifically within the context of supervised senior undergraduate medical student research. This particular nexus is defined in terms of benefits to teaching arising a) directly, through the supervisor designing the research environment as a pedagogical tool to enhance student learning and b) indirectly, through curriculum revisions arising from student research. Informed by the writings of Marcia B. Baxter Magolda and Ron Barnett, survey questions were designed to measure evidence for higher forms of learning and preparation for a supercomplex world. Supervisors were also invited to reflect on curriculum re-design as a product of student research. The study findings confirm the potential of supervised student research as an effective pedagogical tool in medical education. Nevertheless, there is scope for developing a more cohesive research-teaching nexus through improving supervisor training to provide the necessary rationale for mainstreaming student research.