Learning technologies: A medium for the transformation of medical education?

Learning technologies are ubiquitous in medical schools, implemented in anticipation of more effective, active and authentic learning and teaching. Such thinking appears to be an instance of solutionism. The evidence is that academics' adoption of learning technologies is often limited in scale and scope and frequently fails to transform their teaching practices. This paper aims to provide a contextualised analysis of considerations pertinent to the adoption of learning technologies by teaching staff. We contextualise a framework for understanding adoption of learning technologies in higher education by medical education. We identify multiple precursors that predict individual patterns of adoption, illuminating factors related to the technology, the individual staff member charged with adoption and the working environment. We offer conceptual clarity to the vexed issue of learning technology adoption and provide evidence explaining why, despite their widely promulgated potential, learning technologies do not offer an easy route to the transformation of medical education. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

Citation

Rebecca Grainger, Qian Liu, Susan Geertshuis. Learning technologies: A medium for the transformation of medical education? Medical education. 2021 Jan;55(1):23-29

Mesh Tags

PMID: 32484971

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