Supporting Self-Directed Learning: A National Needs Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Faculty Development
• Self-Directed Learning

Background:

• Physician training increasingly emphasizes self-directed learning (SDL) capacity.
• Existing research primarily focuses on student SDL readiness, with less attention to faculty preparedness.
• A needs assessment was developed to evaluate faculty's perceived readiness to foster SDL skills in medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess medical faculty's perceived preparedness and training needs for fostering self-directed learning (SDL) in students.
• To identify faculty's understanding of strategies that promote SDL.
• To gauge institutional support and faculty development availability for SDL.

Main Methods:

• A national needs assessment, the Faculty Needs Assessment for Fostering SDL (FNA-fSDL), was distributed to medical educators.
• Data collected included faculty perceptions of SDL value, administrative support, and faculty development.
• Statistical analyses examined group differences based on work responsibilities and educational settings.

Main Results:

• 359 diverse medical educators responded, showing strong agreement on the importance of SDL for physicians.
• Faculty recognized metacognitive strategies for SDL more readily than cognitive strategies.
• Less than half of respondents reported receiving formal training in fostering SDL.

Conclusions:

• Despite strong support for SDL among learners, a significant gap exists in faculty preparedness.
• Most faculty feel inadequately trained to effectively guide students in developing SDL skills.
• The FNA-fSDL tool can help institutions evaluate and address faculty training needs in SDL.