The Challenges of Developing a Project-Based Self-Directed Learning Component for Undergraduate Medical Education

Abstract

The successful implementation of a separate and dedicated self-directed learning (SDL) component within undergraduate medical education (UGME) curricula, especially those programs that do not use problem-based learning (PBL), has been an ongoing challenge for most institutions [1]. Project-based components have been implemented sparingly in the UKwith some success, as these curricular approaches have been suggested to reduce student self-confidence but concomitantly provide students with a realistic vision for the challenges of lifelong learning [2]. At Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine (WMed), we have implemented Explorations, a project-based SDL component of our UGME curriculum (please see Keator et al. [3]). This novel UGME approach is designed to help students think critically and use deductive reasoning, traits required for a lifetime of learning. There are limited models to follow when designing novel approaches for SDL, and as such, there was no template to follow when we launched the project-based Explorations. To our knowledge, we are the first medical school in the USA to use a project-based SDL approach for UGME. Due to the lack of widespread use, implementing this project-based learning approach into the first 2 years of our UGME curriculum has resulted in both anticipated and unanticipated consequences. Thus, to help other institutions consider the feasibility of adopting this relatively novel method of SDL, the sections below highlight a few of the major administrative challenges we experienced during the first 2 years of the Explorations program at WMed.