Making a Level Playing Field at Master’s Level – an application of self-directed learning

This study was designed to investigate the ability of a self-directed learning (SDL) approach to overcome the difficulties encountered in delivering a basic module in immunology to students studying for a Masters degree in Medical Microbiology. Difficulties arise from the wide range of academic and experiential learning skills exhibited by the students on this programme, the part-time, modular structure of the programme and the fact that each module is only provided once every two years necessitating that first and second year students are taught simultaneously. It was hoped that an SDL approach would provide an appropriate outcome for all students (i.e. one which reflected their general academic ability) and would enhance retention/application of the knowledge obtained. The programme was designed using Grow’s model of structured SDL making the assumption that the majority of students would be classed as interested learners (Grow, 1991). Outcomes of this approach were assessed by comparing the results obtained by this cohort of students with a previous one taught didactically. Analysis was performed not only for this module but also for a subsequent practical module in which the students are expected to apply the knowledge obtained in the theoretical module. The results show that despite being an academically weaker cohort, the students taught immunology using the SDL approach (NEW) showed similar results to the cohort taught didactically (OLD). In addition, the results of the OLD cohort were skewed artificially by the abnormally high results obtained in their coursework assignment. Taken together, these results suggest that the SDL approach improved student performance. When the results for the practical module were considered, it was found that students taught didactically tended to do worse in their practical module than their taught module. Fewer students who learnt through the SDL approach showed a decrease in performance in their practical module, the remainder showing a significant increase. Thus, it is concluded that the SDL approach to immunology has improved student performance and retention/application. However, the model needs some refining to allow for individual variation in learning styles.