PURPOSE
Preclerkship medical education has undergone substantial restructuring with
the adoption of blended learning models. Although blended learning is
associated with academic performance and student satisfaction, concerns
remain regarding reduced in-person instruction and its potential effects on
engagement and content mastery. Despite these concerns, academic performance
has remained comparable to traditional models, suggesting that other aspects
of learning may be affected. This study aimed to clarify how preclinical
medical students engaged in study behaviors, selected learning strategies,
and perceived their academic performance within a blended learning
environment.
METHODS
A mixed-methods design grounded in interpretive phenomenology was used.
Students completed an online questionnaire incorporating the Blended Learning
Questionnaire (BLQ) and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire
(MSLQ). A subset of respondents then participated in semi-structured
interviews exploring the meanings they ascribed to their studying
experiences. Interview transcripts underwent inductive thematic analysis.
RESULTS
Thirty students completed the BLQ and MSLQ. Most students agreed that both
online and institutional resources supported their studying, and many
reported minimal influence from social pressures. Respondents generally
identified with high self-efficacy behaviors in foundational science courses
but rarely generated their own study materials or sought supplementary
evidence.
Six interview participants contributed to eight parent codes, which
informed the construction of themes. Students described how specific
resources, study environments, barriers to learning, and personal motivations
interacted to shape their academic strategies, with many distinguishing
between ‘learning to recognize’ and ‘learning to understand.’
CONCLUSION
The interplay between resource utilization, personal context, and strategic
adaptation provides heightened insights into the complex relationships of the
learner and the learning environment. As medical education increasingly
embraces virtual and blended models worldwide, these insights underscore the
need for evidence-based curricular design to enhance deep learning,
adaptability, and academic outcomes.