Perceptions of the Medical School Learning Environment in a Distributed Education Program: Identifying the Key Elements of Positive Learning Environments

UBC’s distributed medical education program and its implementation of Academic Learning Communities at the Vancouver site create a unique opportunity to explore how different program sites and learning communities within one institution can potentially lead to different learning experiences and environments. Further, in a time of ongoing Curriculum Renewal in which integration, flexibility and continuity of learning are emphasized, student perceptions of the quality of the learning environment are critical and can be used to enhance student learning experiences and support innovation in teaching across program sites and learning communities. We propose to work directly with students to gain their perspective on what is important in the learning environment and how this environment can support or hinder their learning. Their feedback, in combination with relevant theory, will be used to develop a learning environment tool that can be used to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the learning environment.