Learner Preferences for Asynchronous Independent Learning Materials

Asynchronous independent learning comprises a significant proportion of many medical school preclinical curricula. Instructor-guided asynchronous independent learning is known to be an effective teaching modality, yet how learners perceive and use asynchronous independent learning materials (AILM) is less well studied. Understanding learners’ format preferences and the learner-perceived efficacy of AILMs is required for design of optimally effective content and curricula. This multi-institutional survey of medical students at diverse US medical schools asked learners to indicate their preferred format of AILM, how much time they spend on these curricular materials, the traits that make individual AILMs effective or ineffective, and if they prefer AILMs to lecture. This study used a mixed-methods phenomenological approach to understand the students’ experience of learning using AILMs. Student responses indicate they prefer AILMs generated by faculty at their institution over faculty curation of learning resources created by others and want AILMs provided a few days prior to when their learning must be applied. Further, students value succinctness and practice questions in AILMs over any other traits. Finally, learners indicate a preference for AILMs over lecture when learning simple topics, whereas learners indicate essentially equal preference for AILMs and lecture when learning complex topics. Together, these data can guide faculty in their efforts to generate optimally effective AILMs for today’s medical learners.