Benefits of reflection: A study into the value of small group tutorials to promote reflection in Psychiatry students

Abstract

A reflective style of learning can increase the level of student engagement with learning that encompasses complex relationships between clinical facts, clinical practice and professional identity (Goldie 2008). However, learning environments that stimulate reflection can be limited by the context in which teaching and learning take place. One factor that may contribute to this is the experience of the medical educator who might be less used to attending to learners’ affective domains (Weurlander and Stenfors-Hayes 2008). This may explain the underutilisation of reflective styles of teaching. In Bristol the delegation of clinical teaching to seven Academies has enabled small groups of students to meet the same clinical tutor weekly. We sought to evaluate the potential of this arrangement to allow the Psychiatry tutors in a local Trust (AWP) to promote a reflective learning environment.