Student-selected courses in a medical school: scope and relationships

Abstract

Background: There is a dearth of reports in the literature of school-wide appraisals of the student-selected approach in medical education.Aim: This paper appraises the scope of student-selected components in a medical programme and analyses the relationships of achievement and motivation with choices of optional courses.Method: The prospective study involved 247 students from seven class-cohorts. Statistics checked the differences between groups, as well as the association between the students' academic motivation and achievement with the extent of their selections between optional courses and peer-tutoring activity.Results: Most students explored multiple options, including pre-clinical, clinical and non-medical subjects among the domains of learning experienced. A fifth of them earned more student-selected credits from optional courses than the requisite minimum. Twenty courses accounted for 80.2% of optional-course enrolments. Choices between optional courses and peer-tutoring activity reflected distinct learner features. Five variables–selective-credits need, achievement, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, and (negatively) peer-tutoring activity and intrinsic motivation to accomplish–explained 43% of the variability in optional-course credits. Nevertheless, a higher-level blend of optional-course and peer-tutoring selections related to greater cognitive achievement and intrinsic motivation.Conclusions: This work describes the variety of responses in extent and type of choices in a mix-option approach to student-selected credits. The findings suggest interrelationships of achievement and motivation toward purposeful blending of student-selected educational activities.