104 - Pre-clerkship Medical Educators' Definitions and Uses of Learning Objectives

Poster Board Number: 104
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : Learning objectives can be defined as statements of what students are able to do upon completion of a lesson or educational activity. This definition is not consistent within pedagogical literature, and various terms are often interchanged to communicate the same idea to both instructors and students (e.g., competency or goal). The LCME defines learning objectives as “statements of the items of knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes that students are expected to exhibit as evidence of their achievement” and evaluates the quality of learning objectives for medical programs for accreditation purposes. According to the literature, many medical educators have extensive training in biomedical sciences by having completed terminal degrees through programs that do not require pedagogical coursework. These studies suggest many medical educators do not formally gain knowledge or training regarding learning objectives. There is a lack of knowledge to show the existing perceptions of learning objectives by medical educators currently tasked with providing foundational education to students. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to gather insight into the existing definitions, criteria, uses, and resources for learning objectives by medical educators currently serving roles within pre-clerkship basic science courses. Thematic analysis, as described by Kiger and Varpio, was performed to generate four themes: Definitions, Creation, Resources, and Uses. Theme “Definitions” included critical components medical educators felt were necessary for quality learning objectives and was closely aligned with widely accepted definitions in the literature. Theme “Creation” describes what resources were used to compose learning objectives, including personnel involved in the process and cited existing pedagogical frameworks (e.g., Bloom’s Taxonomy). Theme “Resources” was generated in the context of awareness of resources available for developing skills necessary to create quality learning objectives. This theme contained a spectrum of knowledge ranging from absolute unawareness to formalized pedagogical coursework. Theme “Uses” describes learning objectives as tools for instructors and included implications within a Backwards Design model for curriculum. Additionally, educators expressed how they expected students to use these tools as organizational guides and to develop metacognitive habits but included the likelihood of student use as seen by the code “None”. Overall, this work shows medical educators define learning objectives in a manner closely aligned with formal pedagogical definitions but reveals a potential paradoxical relationship with a lack of awareness for skill development resources. Furthermore, the contrast expressed in how educators expected students to use learning objectives demonstrates an existing assumption that students are using learning objectives, regardless of whether instructor communication about learning objectives occurs to students. By providing insight into the current perceptions of learning objectives by medical educators, this work sets the platform for further investigations regarding educators’ acquisition of knowledge regarding learning objectives and their communication to students about learning objectives.