Design of a Learning Development Program to Support First-Year Undergraduate Medical Students in the Transition to a PBL Curriculum.

Unlabelled: While the evaluation of learning development interventions needs to be considered carefully and included at the curriculum design stage, there is limited literature on the actual design of interventions, especially on how these designs evolve and improve over time. This paper describes the evolution of a learning development program intended to support first-year medical students adjusting to a problem-based learning curriculum. We used a design-based research approach, articulating our theoretical grounding and incorporating students' voices to develop an "optimal" intervention for the specific challenges in our context.

Guidelines: The dos, don'ts and don't knows of remediation in medical education.

Introduction: Two developing forces have achieved prominence in medical education: the advent of competency-based assessments and a growing commitment to expand access to medicine for a broader range of learners with a wider array of preparation. Remediation is intended to support all learners to achieve sufficient competence. Therefore, it is timely to provide practical guidelines for remediation in medical education that clarify best practices, practices to avoid, and areas requiring further research, in order to guide work with both individual struggling learners and development of training program policies.

Prediction and prevention of failure: an early intervention to assist at-risk medical students.

Background: Consistent identification and prevention of failure for at-risk medical students is challenging, failing courses is costly to all stakeholders, and there is need for further research into duration, timing and structure of interventions to help students in difficulty.

Aims: To verify the value of a new exam two weeks into medical school as a predictor of failure, and explore the requirements for a preventative intervention.

Methods: Students who failed the two-week exam were invited to a series of large-group workshops and small-group follow-up meetings.

Remediation of at-risk medical students: theory in action.

Background: Previous work has shown that a programme that draws on a blend of theories makes a positive difference to outcomes for students who fail and repeat their first semester at medical school. Exploration of student and teacher perspectives revealed that remediation of struggling medical students can be achieved through a cognitive apprenticeship within a small community of inquiry. This community needs expert teachers capable of performing a unique combination of roles (facilitator, nurturing mentor, disciplinarian, diagnostician and role model), with high levels of teaching presence and practical wisdom.

The role of the teacher in remediating at-risk medical students.

Background: Previous work identified complex ingredients of a remediation programme for at-risk medical students: mandatory, stable, facilitated small groups promote both cognitive and affective developments, with improved self-regulation, metacognition and reflection resulting in significant performance gains.

Aim: We explore the teachers' role in this intervention, aiming to expand and deepen understanding of remediation methods in medical education.

Methods: Extensive qualitative data from student surveys and in-depth teacher interviews, along with quantitative student performance data, produced a rich description of remediation processes.

At-risk medical students: implications of students' voice for the theory and practice of remediation.

Objectives: A mandatory remedial programme for students who repeat their first semester at medical school has resulted in large gains in academic performance and greatly reduced attrition. Here, we explore the students' views of this in order to clarify understanding of optimal remediation practice.

Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from student surveys (n=333) and three in-depth focus groups.

An investigation into the design and effectiveness of a mandatory cognitive skills programme for at-risk medical students.

Background: Many medical schools provide academic support programmes to aid increasing numbers of students from diverse backgrounds. There have been calls for research into successful intervention programmes, and for detailed descriptions of how they work.

Aims: To explore the efficacy of a mandatory intervention programme for at-risk medical students.