According to Bloom it is the gathering of Knowledge that is the lowest level of learning or is it just rote memorization? I call rote memorization temporary because in the long run you forget it. Learning in my opinion is when you can apply concepts, when you can internalize understanding, when you actually use the knowledge to apply to some concept or thought.
Realistically Medical students tend to learn by rote memorization despite the fact that this is the poorest method for a prospective Doctor. In medical students mind the end justified the means. They have to pass the Boards in their second year and they have to pass the tests in their courses and therefore passing the tests and boards is more important to the students that actually comprehending what they are learning.
A few fortunate students learn by PBL or by small group case evaluation and they do well on tests and the Boards but not statistically significantly better than lecture based students.
What we as medical educators can model is what medical students learn most. Professionalism in modeling proper behavior goes a long way in the medical school environment. We try hard at NYCOM to model everyday.

 out of  found this valuable. Do you find this valuable?    

Show Last Reply