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Explorations: a New Approach to Self-Directed Learning in a Competency-Based Curriculum

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Abstract

Helping students develop the skills required for a lifetime of self-directed learning (SDL) is a key facet of undergraduate medical education (UGME). We are a new medical school and have developed Explorations, a novel approach to SDL. Explorations is a project-based approach to SDL that provides students complete autonomy to choose a topic of interest to explore, allowing them to take full ownership in acquiring the skills needed for the competency of lifelong adult learning. Explorations was designed for the Millennial medical student to facilitate the development of the SDL skills necessary to practice medicine in the modern digital age.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the program organizers and participants who attended an invited workshop on Explorations hosted at the 19th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) on 14 June 2015. We thank our newest department members, Dr. Tim Bauler and Dr. Gary Ten Eyck, for serving as faculty facilitators and contributing to the WMed Explorations experience for our students. We also thank our tireless support staff personnel for their continued excellence and dedication in helping us deliver a cutting edge modern curriculum at our new institution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Upjohn Campus, 1000 Oakland Drive, Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, USA

    Christopher S. Keator, B. L. Dickinson, W. L. Lackey, A. Morris, K. M. Quesnelle, D. R. Riddle, M. L. Sheakley, G. B. Vanden Heuvel & D. D. Vandre

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  1. Christopher S. Keator
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  2. B. L. Dickinson
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  3. W. L. Lackey
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  4. A. Morris
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  5. K. M. Quesnelle
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  6. D. R. Riddle
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  7. M. L. Sheakley
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  8. G. B. Vanden Heuvel
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  9. D. D. Vandre
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Correspondence to Christopher S. Keator.

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Keator, C.S., Dickinson, B.L., Lackey, W.L. et al. Explorations: a New Approach to Self-Directed Learning in a Competency-Based Curriculum. Med.Sci.Educ. 26, 777–785 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0293-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0293-0

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