Abstract
Medical education programs in the United States or Canada comply with the Liaison Committee on medical education standards to ensure their graduates provide proficient medical care. One standard includes student development as a lifelong learner. The competency of lifelong learning is developed through self-directed activities such as students evaluating their learning objectives and resources without external help.Quick response (QR) codes were the technological tools introduced in a traditional medical institution to enhance students’ self-directed initiative to tap resources. Relevant lecture objectives and other information such as supplemental discipline content, reading assignments and web-based link resources were embedded into codes and ‘pasted’ onto all pages of their course PDF handouts. It was anticipated that most students had access to smart phones to conveniently scan the codes and retrieve the information.However, an in-class survey conducted showed that only 30% of the students found the QR codes useful. Further questioning revealed that some students just didn’t know how to use the codes or didn’t think the information embedded was worth the effort to decrypt. Although students were tech-savvy in the social and entertainment realms, they were not adept in the use of technology for educational purposes.QR codes presented several theoretical, pedagogical advantages to enhance experiential and self-directed learning. However, implementation among students, in a traditional classroom, required prior instructions on usage. Student feedback was also imperative when introducing novel, innovative tools like QR codes.
Highlights
Self-directed learning is a skill required if a medical student is to become a lifelong learner [2]
Each teaching faculty includes an introductory power-point slide that lists the learning objectives of the discipline content presented during that lecture
Students were not given instructions on how to use the Quick response (QR) codes. Neither were they informed that the QR codes were on the slides to embed information like their lecture objectives
Summary
A medical education program achieves and maintains accreditation by ensuring that their graduates have developed skills to become lifelong learners and to provide proficient medical care. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) regularly reviews members of the medical education community (United States or Canada) for compliance with the standards that govern the function and structure of medical schools One of these standards is that the medical curriculum includes self-directed learning experiences [1]. Each teaching faculty includes an introductory power-point slide that lists the learning objectives of the discipline content presented during that lecture. The published PDF handout versions of the faculty’s power-point slides do contain lecture objectives and information such as supplemental discipline content, reading assignments, and web-based link resources. The faculty team suggested that any activity that encouraged students to use their initiative and seek out resources will promote self-directed learning. The brainstorming team anticipated that the QR codes would enhance the students’ self-directed learning experience
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