Flipped classrooms in medical education: Tool to encourage self-directed and active learning

Abstract

The goal of medical education is to produce a competent graduate, who possesses all the skills to meet the needs of the society. Nevertheless, it is not new that most of the students are deficient in critical thinking and complex reasoning, which are must for a successful doctor. Out of the many approaches which have been tried upon, one among them is a flipped classroom, which is a hybrid approach (combination of classroom teaching and self-directed online learning outside the classroom). The advantage of the method is that it enhances the time available for active learning. Moreover, the method has its own limitations and they should be considered before planning such sessions. In conclusion, flipped classroom is a wonderful tool to integrate e-learning with the traditional learning and simultaneously help the medical students to become a self-directed learner.

Keywords

• Flipped classroom
• medical education
• self-directed learner