Using Ethnographic Learning Circle (ELC) to Transform Funds of Knowledge (FoK) into Curricular Assets in Medical...

Medical education must prepare students to navigate diverse cultural, linguistic, and community contexts. In Malaysia, students' funds of knowledge (FoK) are often marginalized in curricula, despite their potential to inform curriculum design. Traditional didactic norms reinforce educators as primary knowledge sources, leaving students' knowledge and lived experiences underutilized.

The Ethnographic Learning Circle (ELC) was designed to transform and generate FoK-informed curricular assets.

ELC engaged 30 Year 3 medical students during community medicine postings. Students first participated in structured community walkthroughs, documenting observations using a four-component FoK template (place, factors, impact, reflections). Subsequently, two 90-minute facilitated circle discussions guided students in collectively reframing their FoK into curricular assets, using an asset-deficit rubric to ensure student-centered reflection.

Using a modified Fuzzy Delphi Method, an expert panel reached a 90% consensus that the FoK-informed case study produced through ELC met expectations for transferability, context-specificity, novelty, and curricular alignment. Post-ELC student discussions highlighted enhanced engagement, joy in learning, and more holistic understandings of community health.

Five key lessons included the need for structured student preparation, trained facilitators, sufficient time, assessment alignment, and effective transferability. ELC offers a practical, effective model for embedding FoK-informed curricular assets into medical education.