Promoting active learning and student engagement in undergraduate medical education

Abstract

Medical student is expected to acquire a significant amount of knowledge during their training period and this becomes major stress for them. The purpose of the current review was to understand the need for active learning and student engagement and identify the various tools or strategies to promote student engagement. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed search engine, and a total of 21 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include student engagement and medical education in the title alone only. Student engagement is a crucial aspect to ensure active learning as it aids in stimulating and enhancing the ability of students to comprehend the concepts and apply them. As we envisage interactive teaching should be the new norm in medical education delivery, it becomes a crucial factor that medical teachers should use appropriate tools/vignettes to ensure student engagement. To conclude, considering the complexities in medical education, ensuring student engagement during the teaching–learning session is of paramount importance. It becomes the responsibility of the teachers to employ various strategies and tools to engage students in the class, as it will help them to acquire knowledge and skills better and will eventually prepare them for their future competent medical practitioner.