Pre-health professions learners are physically mature adults. However, in early adulthood, cognitive and emotional development are incomplete, and the transition to higher education presents a challenge for learners. The academic environment is demanding, requiring strong will, advanced skill, and self-regulation ability. Even exceptional learners may struggle. With so many variables, how can pre-health professions educators best support learner success? The goal of this chapter is to establish the model of strategic learning as a foundation for identifying and adopting strategies that support learner success. Here, the authors present the model of strategic learning and each of its four components: academic environment, skill, will, and self-regulation. Within each section, the authors discuss the impact of these on learner success and make recommendations to cultivate a strategic academic environment in pre-health professions programs. The authors conclude by justifying a holistic approach to developing pre-health profession learners into strategic learners.
TopBackground
For over a century, researchers in the fields of education, psychology, and neuroscience have worked to characterize human learning. As a result of this cumulative work, one conclusion is evident: learning is complex. The process of learning is not only biological, but also developmental, social, and cultural. Learning happens everywhere, all the time (National Research Council, 2000). For those who dedicate their career to education, this is intimidating. In the field of pre–health professions education, where academic demands are heightened, risk of failure is high, the consequences of failure are significant, and the task of developing a program that supports learner success is overwhelming.
Educators may apply a number of theoretical learning models to develop a program. We propose that, considering the complexity of learning, the most advantageous model is one that respects the number of variables known to impact learning and success. In this chapter, we discuss a model that satisfies this requirement, present evidence to support it as a foundational model for pre–health professions programs and describe practical applications key to promoting learner success.
A Model of Strategic Learning
C. E. Weinstein et al.’s (2004) Model of Strategic Learning is founded upon the idea that the interaction of multiple variables determines success in learning (Weinstein et al., 2004). This learner-centered model acknowledges that learners can develop the relevant knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivation, and self-regulation to manage their own learning. (Weinstein, 1994). It categorizes the variables that influence learner success under four major components: academic environment, skill, will, and self-regulation. In its visual representation, the learner is symbolized by a triangle at the core of the model, and the three points of the triangle represent the components under the learner’s control, namely their intrinsic skill, will, and self-regulation (Figure 1). The academic environment is not under the learner’s control and is demonstrated by the surrounding rectangle. The placement of these components demonstrates the impact of the academic environment on the three intrinsic components (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Model of strategic learning
In the following sections, we define each component, provide evidence to support its consideration, and offer strategies that pre–health professions programs can apply.