According to AAMC data, the majority of US medical schools have a "shortened" preclerkship phase of the curriculum (eg. less than two years in length). Additionally, the change of USMLE Step 1 to pass/fail in an educational landscape for which the majority of US medical schools have a two tiered grading system has arguably further impacted cumulative learning. This session is designed to help participants reflect on their personal teaching experiences while also learning about strategies to facilitate cumulative learning and assessment employed at other medical schools. This interactive session will incorporate small group discussion and large group debrief to foster innovation exchange.

In addition to COVID, there are significant recent external factors that have impacted the learning environment and fundamentally altered the landscape of undergraduate medical education. The transition of USMLE Step 1 exam to pass/fail and the existing pass/fail grading schema at most medical schools in the preclerkship phase has removed external motivators (albeit imperfect motivators) for cumulative and integrative learning across the pre-clerkship curriculum. Many medical schools are facing the challenge of promoting longitudinal learning habits among students who may focus more narrowly on immediate course assessments. This shift provides an opportunity to be even more intentional in connecting concepts across organ systems, building upon previous knowledge, and integrating foundational sciences with the physician task in mind. This session is designed to help participants identify and compare innovative strategies for advancing cumulative learning shared by peers from diverse medical schools and reflect on how these approaches might best be adapted to their own institutional context. Sharing solutions across institutions is essential, as no single school has fully solved the challenge. An “Innovation Exchange” workshop creates a platform for educators to listen, learn, and discuss strategies that advance cumulative learning in a post–Step 1 pass/fail world.

Learning Outcomes

• Define Gagne’s nine events of instruction (in the context of cumulative learning) 
• Identify shared challenges/opportunities related to fostering cumulative learning in medical education 
• Compare innovative strategies shared by peers from diverse institutions to strengthen longitudinal, cumulative learning. 
• Formulate an action item or next step to pilot or adapt an innovation for advancing cumulative learning at their home institution.