Purpose
Integration is one of the crucial aspects of medical education, with many MD programs offering integrated curricula at their institutions. To encourage the involvement of students in this integration process, an active learning exercise involving concept mapping was developed. This exercise was also aimed at fostering team-based learning experience, peer teaching, scholarship, and professionalism.
Methods
This active learning exercise involving concept maps was designed for M1 students in the MD curriculum at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). Students were instructed to generate an integrative concept map in a team-based setting around a topic of their choice that was covered in the first 5 blocks of the Molecular Basis of Normal Body Function (MBNBF) course. The topics covered mainly included clinical applications of cell & molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and nutrition. Each team was required to submit their concept map. During the InClass session, teams either volunteered or were randomly called out to present their concept maps to the entire class. All concept maps generated were then made available to their peers as additional study resources.
Results
For the three years that this exercise was conducted, 30 integrative concept maps each were generated in a team-based setting and were made available to students of respective classes as additional resources. While integrative concept maps were mainly built around interdisciplinary topics covered in the MBNBF course, linkages were also made with topics covered in other courses covering anatomy, histology, etc. Student presentations allowed for peer teaching experiences. Post-session survey data collected for continuous quality improvement purposes suggested that respondents were satisfied with the overall exercise.
Conclusion
This team-based concept map generation and presentation exercise allowed students to link and integrate concepts within and beyond the course. This exercise also promoted peer teaching experience, scholarship, and professionalism in a low-stakes environment.