One version of the Chinese proverb says: ‘stop giving fish, but teach fishing’ is a challenging call for all of us in positions of responsibilities at the Medical colleges!
This group of students at the MOSC Medical College, is an example of how they can rise to an academic challenge. They have their own individual student research projects; got themselves organised to participate in the medical quiz at CMC Vellore and four of them made maiden presentation of their research at a conference. Dr. C. Radhakrishan, the dean of the college, while greeting them just before their departure for the mediquizz at CMC Vellore, said, ‘I am happy that we too now join the knowledge club’.
A few months back, they were like anybody else, going through the routine of medical learning. On invitation, they were ready to make an extra effort to equip themselves for conducting research and stretching their knowledge base for a competitive performance.
It is a question to all the medical teachers, ‘do we affirm passive class room learning or liberate students to go on a knowledge journey by opening the doors of enquiry’! Yes, when we free them to be adult learners, they need equipping which teachers have to provide! I wonder whether the medical teachers would offer at least one fourth of their time during the working hours to enlarge the scope of active learning in which the students can participate to learn some skills beyond the usual academic requirements.
We ought to do this, because at least one third of the students are knowledge searchers and surfers of the internet. Why not guide their learning instinct and formulate it to converge on making them to be their own managers of advanced learning!
M.C.Mathew.
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