HPEC

In health professions education, educators are challenged to create learning environments that support students’ understanding of concepts over passive memorization. Through rote memorization, students can recall information quickly, but are unable to make connections, or apply their knowledge to problem solving. Meaningful learning, however, results when a student fully understands all parts of a concept and how they fit together. Students who participate in meaningful learning are better able to make connections between new and prior knowledge, and apply their knowledge to problem solving. To promote meaningful learning, educators should rely on constructivist learning theory when designing learning experiences. According to this theory, new knowledge is actively constructed upon prior knowledge in the mind of the learner. Constructivist theory is the foundation for active learning, and educators can promote long-term, meaningful learning in the classroom by designing active learning experiences with constructivist principles in mind.