
S. NIELSEN ET AL.
(Kjellgren et al., 2008) where male students were found to have
a significantly higher rate of a surface approach to learn. An
explanation may be that men and women have different study
habits which influence their learning approach. Men may think
that e-learning takes too much effort, they are more goal ori-
ented and prefer traditional lectures. By using e-learning as a
pedagogical method women may think they will get opportuni-
ties to be flexible in their choice of study time which is not
possible in traditional lectures. In the study by Kjellgren et al.
(2008) there is also an indication that a deep approach to learn-
ing among students was more characteristic of older students.
But in this study there is no difference in relation to age be-
tween surface and deep approaches to learning.
As stated by Kim (2007), using realistic authentic cases in
higher education is a good way to learn and also to increase
students’ ability to develop critical thinking. In this study we do
not have access to how the students solve the assignments
based on authentic cases in relation to their learning styles.
Therefore we cannot make any conclusions about the students
understanding of the authentic cases and if it made any differ-
ences for handling medical insurance issues. Further studies are
needed to make conclusions about using authentic cases to
solve medical insurance issues. On the other hand students who
use surface approach to learn maybe prevent themselves from
understanding the meaning of the authentic cases (Marton &
Booth, 1997), which is important in this medical course.
Well motivated students have positive effects on learning
(Biggs, 2003; Clayton et al., 2010). Many students wish for
engaging learning environments that support them in interact-
tions with teachers and other students (Clayton et al., 2010).
Most students in this study thought that communication with
the teachers via the learning platform worked out very well.
The majority also thought that they got their questions an-
swered quickly and that the feedback given was constructive,
whereas others thought that they did not get feedback fast
enough and that they lacked interactions with the teachers. The
different opinions may not only depend on learning styles but
also, motivation, family situations, tradition, lack of time and
work load.
If deep or surface approaches to learning have any conse-
quences on their future professional role is not easy to express.
It is well known that there is a strong relationship between mo-
tivation, the topics and the use of learning styles (Bengtsson &
Ohlsson, 2010; Clayton et al., 2010). Medical students are used
to traditional lectures and not used to e-learning and of authen-
tic cases. This current course of medical education is placed at
the end of their whole education, which may influence their
motivation. To be able to handle the sick leave process requires
motivation, medical competence, medical insurance knowledge,
competence to work online and knowledge about the society.
Understanding the underlying meanings of the insurance sys-
tem in our society is thus crucial. A majority of students think
that it is positive to take part of other peer students’ assign-
ments, which was considered to be a useful way to learn. But
they also highlighted the risk of plagiarism and cheating. This
learning transparency was also a new way of learning. Why the
students are worried about plagiarism can have several expla-
nations like; they are not used to take part of other students’
assignments and they may not see the value to learn from each
other. On the other hand they might be worried that somebody
else copies their assignments or about revealing their knowl-
edge gaps for the other participants. According to Bengtsson &
Ohlsson (2010) many medical students are aware of their great
responsibility as fully fledged doctors and they are afraid of not
having acquired enough knowledge.
In a study by Lindblom-Ylänne & Lonka (2001), medical
students often criticise the form of assignments and examina-
tions as these guide them towards a surface approach to learn-
ing. These findings highlight the shortcomings in a traditional
medical curriculum concerning assignments and examinations.
What type of knowledge is actually asked for in the examina-
tions? The type of knowledge asked for must of course be suit-
able for their future profession and the documents and authentic
cases presented on the platform must be appropriate and inter-
esting to study. The content of the assignments on the platform
must be consistent with the curriculum and learning outcomes.
To be able to answer these questions more research must be
done on the content of the medical curriculum.
E-learning is based on that you study alone and use your own
learning style, while studying in a group is about solving prob-
lems together. Medical doctors have to make decisions on their
own and therefore e-learning can be a suitable method to prac-
tice independently and take responsibility to prepare for their
coming profession. Stated by Säljö (2000) studying in a group
can help students to maximize their own and others learning,
you learn by listening to others. Still there is no indication that
studying in a group results in higher motivation to learn than
studying alone (Schunk et al., 2008).
That the curriculum and the study program in medical educa-
tion are based on scientific theories is rather obvious, but
should not also the teaching methods be based on scientific
studies?
Method Discussion
The strengths of this study are that the participants are re-
cruited from three different groups, who allowed a variation in
the data and that the response rate was satisfactory. One of the
questionnaires has been validated and has good reliability and
the other included many comments from students which gave
us adequate explanations to their answers. The majority of
those who responded to the questionnaires were women, which
can be seen as a weakness, but the analysis was adjusted to
gender, so the conclusion of the study is not affected by the
gender imbalance.
Conclusion
A majority of the medical students found e-learning an ap-
propriate pedagogical method to learn about medical insurance
issues. The students who had positive attitudes about e-learning
had a significantly higher rate of deep approach learning which
is beneficial in an area of knowledge that is so demanding and
changing as medicine. To promote students’ deep approach
learning, the medical education curriculum could contain more
student-activating teaching methods such as e-learning based
on authentic situations. To stimulate students to reflect on
various learning styles and find their own preferences is an
important issue for developing lifelong learning.
Recommendations
A comprehensive introduction is fundamental to be confi-
dent to e-learning
E-learning fits the students modern lifestyle.
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