You might be familiar with the current model of teaching. You go to class; teacher says things and students casually take down notes. That seems to be the way things were running since the dawn of education.
But is that good enough to teach the next generation of critical thinking physicians?
The question becomes, “What else can you do?” Well, what does a physician do for a living? They are great at thinking critically and above all finding issues with inductive reasoning skills.
Given these traits, the work that’s being done at certain medical schools in Vermont seems to be the way to go.
Imagine a classroom where the teacher says little and the students are given somewhat of a mystery to solve. As a group, they come across a patient that has an unexplained illness.
What is Alternative Medical School Learning?
While traditional teaching would simply tell them what the illness is and how to treat it, that doesn’t seem to be the case in these alternative medical school learning programs.
They have to use the tools that were given them and find the solution on their own. In reality, doctors don’t have professors looking over their shoulder to see if they got the right answer or not. Using a system that perpetuates the reliance on teachers doesn’t really help the student become a doctor nor does memorize a bunch of facts and statistics.
By forcing students to adapt to an environment similar to one they’ll have to face in the coming years, they will actually become more prepared than their traditionally educated colleagues.
The teacher serves as a judge to the right and wrong way of using logic and reason to arrive at the answer.
Students listing the facts and statistics for why they believe their answer is right will be right or wrong but it’s their line of reasoning that’s being tested, judged, and strengthened as a direct result of using this method to teach.