Step 2: Linking Objectives with Learning Activities and Evaluation
Designing Your Own Learning
In any educational program, learning objectives, educational activities, and documentation/evaluation methods are interrelated. Writing good learning objectives facilitates the selection of educational activities and resources, facilitates communication with faculty, aids resident learning and preparation for the program, and guides evaluation and credentialing criteria.
Learning, educational activities, and learning resources should be selected to accommodate to different learning styles and priorities. Each person learns material at a different pace and in a different way. Some residents prefer to learn from a text or listen to a lecture, while others like to use tables and diagrams to summarize the information, or prefer to work in small groups. You would have to select the activities that best suit your learning style.
When selecting educational activities and/or resources focus attention on the order you will complete them and try to link each activity to one another. Organize the presentation and use of educational activities in a meaningful and explicit way if possible. The order in which activities are performed will influence your ability to recall the information and problem solve more effectively.
Choose those activities that:
- Easily available taking into consideration program resources, scheduling and constrictions
- Present information in different ways (e.g., lecture versus case presentation)
- Make use of examples of application using different types of skills
When selecting appropriate learning experiences keep in mind the learning objectives and the knowledge, skills and attitudes you want to acquire. In addition, explore instructional options available to you (out of site and technology options).
In residency training the following educational activities are used:
- Lecture
- Seminar
- Small Groups
- Case-based teaching
- Supervised patient care
After learning objectives are developed and educational activities selected, efforts are concentrated in the selection evaluation and documenting methods necessary to determine if you have mastered the learning objectives. These methods should be developed before implementing your PLI3P and should be based on learning objectives. They should emphasize skill and concept acquisition organized into the program; they should not include only the memorization of details or completion of procedures out of context.