Educational theory

The Sydney Medical Program is based on elements of adult learning theory, research in cognitive psychology and student learning research. The Program is designed to avoid an overemphasis on 'covering the content' at the expense of developing process abilities - for example, using "communication skills, collaboration and teamwork skills, and thinking and decision making skills in both creating and using … knowledge" (Sinclair 1996). A naïve 'transmission' theory of learning results in a surface approach to learning (Marton & Saljo 1976), but deeper approaches, as exemplified by problem based learning, encourage students to participate in an interactive, personal approach to the construction of meaning.
Research in the field of adult learning emphasises the value of concrete experience and identifies a number of important influences. Adult learning is best encouraged when:

• learners are engaged as participants in the design of learning
• they are encouraged to be self-directed
• the teacher functions as a facilitator rather than a didactic instructor
• individual learners' needs and styles are taken into account
• a climate conducive to learning is established
• learners' past experiences are utilised in the classroom and
• learning activities are deemed to have some direct relevance to the learners' circumstances.

(Brookfield, 1986)

Student learning is promoted when there is consistency between curriculum aims and objectives and the teaching and assessment methods used. Biggs (1989) and Gibbs (1992) suggest that there are four key elements of good teaching, each of which encourages students to adopt a deep approach to their learning:

• Creating a motivational context - involving intrinsic motivation and 'ownership' of learning within a positive emotional learning climate
• Encouraging learner activity - active rather than passive learning in which connections are made with past learning and between concepts. The learning activities are planned, reflected upon, processed and related to abstract conceptions
• Encouraging interaction with others - through mechanisms such as cooperative learning, autonomous student groups and peer tutoring, and
• Helping students to develop a well structured knowledge base - involving the linking of new concepts with existing knowledge and experience to provide structure and integration.

Learning is influenced by students' perception about themselves as learners, the nature of the learning task, the outcomes that are considered likely to be rewarded and the context in which learning is expected to occur. Context influences learning outcomes because it is an important determinant of the approach students take to their learning.