SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING READINESS IN UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS – A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Self-Directed Learning (SDL) is a way of learning. A learner takes responsibility for his/her learning by formulating learning goals and identifying resources to achieve the same. Objectives: The current study was conducted to know the level of SDL readiness in undergraduate medical students in a tertiary teaching hospital and to see the correlation between SDLRS score and demographic parameters across different years of study so that appropriate recommendations may be provided for teaching delivery. Methods: SDLRS Likert scale questionnaire was administered to 302 medical undergraduates across the rst to the ninth semester in paper form during August-October 2018. It consists of 40 questions categorized under three domains, namely Selfmanagement (9 items), Desire for learning (13 items), Self-Control (18 items). Results: The present study included 302 participants. The average SDL score is 149.8.47 % of the students included in the current study have scores <150. The current study shows that there is no signicant association between Gender (P=0.30), Current Age (P=0.07), age at admission into the medical course (P=0.75), and level of SDL readiness. Students who had English and Hindi as a medium of instruction before admission to medical school have better SDL scores than those whose medium of instruction was in either one of the languages(P=0.005). In addition, students from the third semester have signicantly higher SDL scores than students from other semesters (P=0.04). Conclusions: Since the SDL scores are low in these students, they require more teacher-led discussions, demonstrations, and lectures in the initial period rather than independent projects, case studies, and private tutorials.