Letting Go of Mandatory Presence during Laboratory Classes: Student’s Behaviour and Opinions

Abstract

To prepare the faculty of the Medical School of the Radboud university medical center in Nijmegen for the new curriculum based on components of self-directed learning that started in 2015, the behaviour in registration, presence and educational experiences of old curriculum students towards one of the components of self-directed learning: the letting go of mandatory classes was studied in 2014. Freedom to attend was introduced in human anatomy laboratories during a Year-1 and a Year-2 course. A web-based enrolment system was used, and student’s choices and changes were logged. Student’s opinions on the optional classes were probed with a questionnaire. Year-2 students liked the optional classes more than Year-1 students. Both groups disliked classes that were scheduled at the end of the day. Both groups perceived that the freedom to attend stimulated their responsibility and learning experience. In conclusion, the freedom to attend classes caused perceptions that are congruent with self-di rected learning. The findings suggest that feelings of autonomy and being competent to the required task were stimulated by the freedom of choice. Implementing the freedom to attend classes in medical education is therefore recommended whereas one should also consider the feasibility with respect to organisation, efficient use of teachers and financial resources.