Learning Together: Co-Learning Among Faculty and Trainees in the Clinical Workplace

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Workplace Learning
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Workplace learning studies often focus on individual learning.
• This overlooks the potential for co-learning between clinician-educators and trainees.
• Co-learning involves mutual learning and knowledge construction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the occurrence and mechanisms of co-learning in the workplace.
• To understand the perceived value of co-learning for both faculty and trainees.
• To investigate how co-learning dynamics influence learning outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Constructivist grounded theory approach.
• Interviews with 34 faculty clinician-educators across 10 specialties.
• Iterative analysis to develop a conceptual model of co-learning.

Main Results:

• A 3-part model of co-learning was developed, highlighting joint identification of learning opportunities and strategy selection.
• Co-learning leads to interpretation, meaning construction, and learning outcomes like insight.
• Faculty perceived co-learning as valuable, with asymmetry in experience influencing collaborative dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The co-learning model explicates the role of asymmetry in workplace learning.
• Intentional management of asymmetries by faculty is crucial for maximizing workplace learning.
• Co-learning, when managed effectively, fosters collaborative learning environments.