Student’s perspective on the pros and cons of current instructional and learning methods

Student’s Perspective on the Pros and Cons of Current Instructional and Learning Methods Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Student’s Perspective on the Pros and Cons of Current Instructional and Learning Methods The dynamism in the present-day educational industry means that students are exposed to a wide range of instructional and learning techniques. The wide-ranging nature of the instructional methods is anchored on the need for educators to maximize what they offer to the learners. However, the fact that the learning environment is changing consistently means that no one instructional or learning method befits all students and all learning conditions. As such, student’s perspectives on various instructional and learning methods are valuable as they are the core targets of the outcomes of individual techniques. When an instructional or learning method befits the needs of the students, positive outcomes can be witnessed in the performances. The same applies to negative outcomes from various instructional methods that can deliver failure in various learning aspects. Considering the role that learners must play in elevating the techniques, their perspectives and inputs are needed in exploring the advantages and disadvantages of individual techniques. Learners can also suggest the changes that could be implemented to retrieve better outcomes from various learning methods. In medical and health colleges, different instructional and learning techniques have been fronted to steer knowledge acquisition and dissemination. In this review article, emphasis is put on addressing students’ perspectives on problem-based learning techniques through various attributes like integration of basic medical courses, integration between the basic medical phase with the clinical phase, and the relationship between the student and the teacher. The findings of the review should be vital in outlining some of the advantages or disadvantages linked to problem-based learning and how to improve the drawbacks to befit the needs of various medical and health college students. 1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Learning Methods 1 Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Problem-based learning (PBL) is among the most popular learning techniques in contemporary medical and health college settings. PBL delineates its principles from the conventional teaching techniques in which teachers control every aspect of the learning process (Aliet al., 2024). Instead, this method fosters putting students at the core of their learning experience. That is, PBL allows learners to lead the learning process by exploring real-world medical problems. The method can allow learners to set personal objectives, identify their needs, and research independently. Also, this technique allows learners to collaborate in solving various problems (Páez et al., 2024). In the context of PBL methods, learners are not merely passive participants in the learning process. That is because they are also engaged in key learning prospects like research, discussion, and critical thinking. The other attribute that has been linked primarily to PBL is the implementation of lifelong learning skills among students (Alexander et al., 2024). Future medical professionals are nurtured through various skills that they need in their professional growth including communication, problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. The implementation of PBL can take different approaches depending on the abilities and the needs of the learners. Primary among the approaches the educators consider in implementing PBL is advancing scenarios in learning (Aliet al., 2024). The foundation of PBL is realistic clinical cases presented to the learners. For instance, learners can be given various cases about different patient experiences and be asked to explore the symptoms, diagnose, or treat the patients. The presented scenarios are normally relative to what the learners are likely to experience in real-life clinical settings. The other approach that PBL proponents consider is the accommodation of group work (Páez et al., 2024). That is, while PBL fosters independent learning, collaboration is also considered a key avenue through which learners can advance new perspectives to the cases that they face in the learning process. Through group work, learners understand the cases collaboratively, identify the learning areas and conduct relevant research to address the cases collaboratively. Ultimately, PBL also comes with the role of a facilitator. A facilitator is the conventional instructor. He/she should guide the discussions by ensuring that each learner executes his/her role. In independent learning sessions, the facilitator can guide the learner into core activities like identifying his/her strengths and weaknesses or guiding the students in setting SMART learning objectives. However, the facilitator is not allowed to provide information directly that can help the learner to solve the problems. PBL comes with various advantages from the perspectives of the students. Primarily, the method allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the learning areas. As noted, PBL allows learners to create the theoretical concepts learned in class with real-world scenarios (Wan-Jen, 2023). Such a hybrid approach allows learners to gain a deeper understanding of the cases and whatever they are learning. Also, PBL emphasizes critical thinking skills, which are vital in understanding the issues. With PBL, learners can think critically and advance unique approaches to solving various problems. For medical professionals, each patient or case is different. As such, the professionals are required to think critically if they are to deliver under every unique circumstance. Further, PBL enhances communication skills (Leszczyński et al., 2018). In present-day clinical settings, mastering efficient communication skills is vital. A professional needs to understand communication through multiple perspectives including cross-cultural and interpersonal communication. That is because healthcare is presently characterized by cultural diversity, which may hinder understanding for professionals with limited communication skills (Kerimbayev et al., 2023). Ultimately, PBL is a vital tool in nurturing lifelong learning skills. With its ability to foster self-directed learning, PBL has proven to be a vital tool in advancing skills that can allow learners to keep up-to-date with the constantly evolving medical field. Amidst the above advantages, PBL also comes with a range of drawbacks worth exploring. Primarily, PBL can be time-consuming if implemented exclusively. For instance, PBL constitutes prospects like independent learning or case studies that require a student to explore unfamiliar topics more deeply. Independent research can take longer to execute compared to teacher-led instructions. The other drawback of PBL is that it can be challenging to understand the roles of a facilitator (Leszczyński et al., 2018). An effective implementation of PBL demands faculty development and training in the scope of facilitation. However, some institutions do not consider facilitation as an important component of PBL. Without facilitation, students can easily be misguided in their attempts to set and achieve particular objectives (Alexander et al., 2024). Additionally, even with facilitation, the method does not outline exclusively the limits of facilitation. Hence, there are possibilities for under-facilitation or over-facilitation. The final drawback that comes with PBL is student workload. Because this technique is centered on the students, the workload can be immeasurable. As such, the method requires students to be well-prepared to participate actively or contribute meaningfully in PBL sessions. Put simply, PBL could be a vital learning technique in contemporary healthcare. However, it also has a few drawbacks that must be explored in its implementation. 1.2 Integration of Basic Medical Courses Integration of medical courses is a method that current stakeholders in medicine and related studies foster to enhance the knowledge scope of the learners. In integrated medicine courses, emphasis is put on clinical training alongside teaching scientific knowledge (Alexander et al., 2024). In essence, integrated learning allows a student to learn the material by topic rather than by discipline. For instance, an integrated learning of a digestive system can constitute all its anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology. Additionally, one must learn all the clinical skills that are relevant to the digestive system. This technique is all-inclusive and differs from the conventional learning methods in which learners need to learn the science first in the pre-clinical years before moving to the clinical settings. Through integrated medicine courses, learners are equipped with a broad knowledge base and diverse set of skills. That is because the learning method is highly holistic and tends to accommodate each key component of the learning process at a medical or health college. The value of curriculum integration in medical and health colleges is marked by the multiple steps and levels that it encompasses. To implement curriculum integration, an institution must foster specific steps (Wan-Jen, 2023). The first step is setting the aims and objectives in which the stakeholders identify what the students will acquire from the new curriculum. The second step is outlining the subject areas in which the stakeholders determine the subject areas and how to execute them (Leszczyński et al., 2018). The other steps involved in integrating the curriculum include outlining the activities and assessment strategies, implementation, as well as defining the evaluation and feedback strategies. Upon implementing an integrated curriculum, the institution can define its various levels. For instance, multidisciplinary integration involves bringing together two disciplines to create a new field (Alexander et al., 2024). Focus can also be put on other levels like interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and meta-disciplinary integration. Presently, there are different types of integrated curriculums from which learning institutions can choose. Some of the popular types in medical and health education include theme-based curriculums, STEAM curriculums, place-based curriculum, and project-based curriculum. Remarkably, the integration can be conducted based on what the institution or learners intend to achieve. Integration of basic medical courses also comes with a range of advantages and disadvantages. The first benefit of the method is that it enhances the student’s understanding. Integration of disparate subjects can help students to view the interconnectedness of the basic sciences and their application in clinical settings. For instance, a learner may have a better understanding of the physiological bases of cardiovascular diseases if he/she learns about the structure and functions of the heart (Wan-Jen, 2023). Integration also increases the relevance of the curriculum. That is, learning becomes more engaging and relevant to the students if basic sciences and clinical scenarios are integrated as it becomes easier to outline the immediate application of foundational knowledge in real-world settings. Integration also improves knowledge retention (Al-Zahrani, 2024). Notably, memorizing a vast amount of scientific knowledge can be challenging for most learners. However, knowledge retention improves as soon as learners can link various clinical factors with such knowledge (Chang et al., 2023). However, integration can come with challenges like difficulty in curriculum design and faculty collaboration in cases where each faculty does not understand the objectives of the integration. Upon integration, the learners can also face disparity in teaching styles. Consequently, ensuring a unified and cohesive learning experience across basic sciences can be challenging for students who have to adapt to different approaches. The final disadvantage that comes with curriculum integration is the constant need for balance between depth and breadth of knowledge (Shrivastava & Shrivastava, 2021). While integration steers the breadth of knowledge areas, it does not necessarily foster depth. Hence, there are chances that multiple knowledge areas are covered shallowly as the curriculum is integrated. 1.3 Integration between basic medical phases with the clinical phase Contemporary methods of learning demand early exposure to the clinical phases of learning. Conventionally, emphasis was put on allowing learners to understand the scientific foundations of various concepts in the early years of medical and health colleges (Al-Zahrani, 2024). Eventually, students would be exposed to clinical practice at the tail-end of their education. The conventional teaching techniques were found to be inadequate because they did not ease the transfer of knowledge learned in class to clinical settings. Also, the students needed longer periods of transition to match the dynamic changes in clinical settings. Hence, an integration between basic and clinical phases has been introduced to steer a more relevant integration between lessons learned in class and real-life applications (Kerimbayev et al., 2023). If early clinical experiences are structured, well-supervised, and tailored to the student’s unique learning stages, such learners are likely to transition better through different knowledge areas in medical and health education. There are notable advantages and disadvantages associated with integration between basic medical and clinical phases. One of the advantages of this method is early exposure to the clinical setting (Al-Zahrani, 2024). That is because integrating basic and clinical phases eases the ability of the students to apply the theories that they learn in class into clinical practice at the required time. Such a move makes students understand their strengths and weaknesses in various learning areas. If nurtured appropriately, the practice can help steer students toward enriching their strengths while also eliminating some of the weaknesses that they face (Kerimbayev et al., 2023). The second advantage that comes with the method is steering continuity of learning. The integration promotes a seamless transition between learning phases. As such, it can be deployed to foster a more cohesive educational experience for the students. Even amidst the above advantages, the integration can also come with various drawbacks. Principally, there can be complexity associated with such integration in some cases. That is, some students may struggle with the learning curve that requires them to apply theoretical knowledge in clinical settings (Atashinsadaf et al., 2024). To eliminate the associated stress and challenges, logistics and faculty workload must be carefully considered to ensure effective integration. Also, early clinical experiences need to be structured, well-supervised, and tailored to the student's learning stage. The other disadvantage associated with this technique is the fact that it demands extensive resources to implement. An effective integration of the learning phases requires input of resources in aspects like having the right amount and quality of facilitators. Also, the institutions may require more resources for access to clinical settings (Chang et al., 2023). If not addressed appropriately, more resources can be used in the integration process which leads to the deprivation of other key departments of the institutions. 1.4 Educational Environment that Stimulates Active Learning, Self-Learning, and Learning in Small Groups The approaches that the educational environment fosters in their students can have impacts on how knowledgeable such students become eventually. Active learning is one of the methods that have been proposed in various settings of medical and health education (Rozhenkova et al., 2023). Active learning constitutes strategies that steer engaging students in their learning processes. Active learning fosters a rich interaction between the teacher and the learner. Some of the key traits of active learning include student metacognition and use of higher-order thinking. Some of the techniques deployed in active learning include retrieval-based strategies, interleaving, and spacing. Active learning has been confused by formative assessments bearing their inclination toward evaluating student understanding (Atashinsadaf et al., 2024). However, active learning tends to foster more students engaging dynamically with the content that they are learning as opposed to passive participation in lecture halls followed by reading books in formative assessments. The medical and health colleges have developed different strategies to steer active learning in their institutions. One such strategy is the use of schemas in which stude...