Teaching Surgical Model Development in Research by Using Situated Learning and Instructional Scaffolding

Resources detailing the scope, details, and duration for teaching and learning surgical model development in research are poorly described. Situated learning and instructional scaffolding are useful skill-building tools. Herein, we discuss educational theory in the context of a training paradigm for surgical researchers, using our experience with a nonunion femoral fracture model as an example. Stages of learning include cognitive, associative, and autonomous stages. In surgical training, the cognitive stage involves the acquisition of basic knowledge, including anatomy, surgical approach, instrumentation, and suturing, which can be taught by using books, videos, skeletons, and cadavers. To these basic skills, the associative stage adds advanced techniques-including anesthesia, asepsis, hemostasis, and the full surgical procedure-through mentored nonsurvival surgical experiences. After a mentor has assured competence, trainees perform supervised and then independent survival surgeries to complete the autonomous stage. Through these stages, instructional scaffolding is applied in the context of a situated learning environment in which trainees learn in a layered approach through their own experiences. Thus, the proposed training paradigm is structured to teach trainees how to think and act as surgeons so they can adapt and grow, rather than only to ensure technical competency in a specific model. Development and mastery of complex surgical models may require as long as 6 mo to achieve optimal outcomes, depending on the preexisting skill of the research surgeons, technical difficulty, and the stage of model evolution.