Effect of changes to the formal curriculum on medical students’ motivation towards learning: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONLearning is influenced by different factors, and learners' engagement is primordial among these factors. In turn, engagement is affected by students' motivation and their perception of the relevance of the aims and features of the learning process. 1 Consequently, well-motivated students seem to have more favorable study behavior and higher quality of learning. 1,2 According to the self-determination proposition, 2 motivation can be understood as a propensity to move or to do something. Motivation comprises a continuum that goes from absence of motivation at one end to extrinsic motivation and onwards to intrinsic motivation at the other end. In educational activities, extrinsic motivation is oriented towards the outcomes of the learning process, whereas intrinsic motivation is based on inherent interest in or pleasure with the process itself. Intrinsic motivation is associated with higher learning quality, increased persistence and better psychosocial adjustment. 2Motivation towards learning is regulated by and can itself regulate several aspects of academic life. Concerning medical education, motivation seems to influence study behavior, choice of specialty, intention to continue studying and academic success. 3 Motivation can also be influenced by factors at the individual level that are independent of the academic environment, such as sex, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and personality traits. 3Although the influence of affective aspects of the learning process has been recognized, students' motivation has not been a predominant driver in medical curricular planning or reform. 4Moreover, the effects of curricular changes on students' motivation are not entirely understood.ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: One of the factors known to influence performance in the learning process is student motivation. In turn, students' motivation can be regulated by a large number of variables relating to the individual (such as sex, age and socioeconomic status) or to aspects of the academic life. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of curriculum changes involving reduction in content overload and increased early exposure to clinical settings, on motivation towards learning among Year 1 medical students. Secondarily, the aim was to ascertain whether this influence on motivation remained stable until the undergraduate program ended (Year 6). DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective study on two student cohorts at a Brazilian state-owned university. METHODS: Two consecutive student cohorts were assessed: one with a traditional curriculum (n = 87) and the other with a reformed curriculum (n = 63), at the same medical school. Participants in both cohorts gave responses on four scales in Years 1 and 6: the Academic Motivation Scale, containing subscales for autonomous and controlled motivation, and lack of motivation towards learning; Beck's Anxiety and Depression Inventories; Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; and the Social Adjustment Scale. In Year 6, 68% of the initial sample (66 stude...

Millennials Medical Students Generation at the Crosswalks: Motivations and Attitudes Towards Study and Future Career – A Mixed-Method Study

“…Del-Ben et al (2019) found that students with the reformed curriculum (small group discussions, clinical activities with real patients, promoting active learning methods) had higher autonomous and controlled motivation than those of the traditional (science based, mainly lectures) curriculum. 17 Clearly teaching methods can improve or weaken motivation levels. For example, the introduction of standardization in medical education, problem-based and learner-centered methodologies improved students’ cognitive and metacognitive processing.…”

“…14,15 Although education environment like educational contexts and teachers' autonomy-support influence motivation levels, studies to compare students' motivation in association with their curriculum type are rare and motivational processes are substantially undervalued in curriculum development. [16][17][18] A Brazilian study comparing motivation of students from a traditional with those studying a reformed curriculum found significant higher motivation levels in the latter, which persisted over the whole study period. 17 The switch away from the traditional curriculum reduced the medical students' levels of anxiety, improved students' metacognitive processing capacity and self-regulated learning skills.…”

“…[16][17][18] A Brazilian study comparing motivation of students from a traditional with those studying a reformed curriculum found significant higher motivation levels in the latter, which persisted over the whole study period. 17 The switch away from the traditional curriculum reduced the medical students' levels of anxiety, improved students' metacognitive processing capacity and self-regulated learning skills. 19,20 Knowing the different determinants and effects of motivation, educators can initiate interventions that motivate students to engage more successfully in their studies, resulting in more to positive outcomes not only profiting themselves but also their patients.…”

Preliminary study of the relationship between career choice motivation and understanding of professionalism in newly enrolled medical students in China: a cross-sectional study

“…This is something to be improved on in future investigations. On the basis of this study, future work should further explore whether students’ career choice motivations would change as their medical studies progress,45 and if so, to what extent such changes will affect students’ perceptions of medical professionalism.…”

Carga Horária Total e de Pediatria de Escolas Médicas Brasileiras

“…Even alterations in the traditional curriculum, with a reduction in content and student inclusion since the beginning of the course in primary care settings, together with experience in the community, are associated with increased motivation for learning among the students of the first two years of the course 16 .…”