Toward independent learning: curricular design for assisting students to learn how to learn

It must be acknowledged that a university course in medicine cannot hope to present its students with everything they need to know in order to practice a lifetime's career in the profession. Even were the course years longer, increasing the content of factual knowledge would not equip the graduate for the practice of medicine. In part this is due to the fact that medical knowledge is continually changing or being reevaluated; in addition, facts alone cannot be correlated with practical application, and the process of how to use the facts is an essential part of the study and practice of medicine. It is essential, therefore, that an undergraduate medical course, among other things, teach the students to take responsibility for and to be able to structure their own learning. If the process of continual active learning is fostered during undergraduate days, it may readily be continued by the graduate alone in the absence of his teachers. The curriculum at the new medical school at Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is being developed with this priority in view. This paper describes some of the principles underpinning this philosophy and how such principles are being applied.