Premium
The acquisition of tacit knowledge in medical education: learning by doing
Author(s) -
McLeod P J,
Steinert Y,
Meagher T,
Schuwirth L,
Tabatabai D,
McLeod A H
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02370.x
Subject(s) - tacit knowledge , procedural knowledge , test (biology) , descriptive knowledge , medical knowledge , psychology , medical education , explicit knowledge , knowledge base , mathematics education , knowledge management , medicine , body of knowledge , computer science , artificial intelligence , paleontology , biology
Aim This study was designed to assess medical school teachers' tacit knowledge of basic pedagogic principles and to explore the specific character of the knowledge base. Methods We developed a 50‐item, multiple‐choice question test based on important pedagogic principles, and classified all questions as requiring either declarative or procedural knowledge. A total of 72 medical teachers representing 5 different groups of clinicians and educators agreed to sit the test. Results Teachers in all 5 groups performed well on the test of tacit pedagogic knowledge but those with advanced education degrees, or local recognition as experts, performed best. All test takers performed best on questions requiring procedural knowledge. Conclusion Medical teachers possess tacit knowledge of basic pedagogic principles. Superior test performance on questions requiring procedural knowledge is consistent with their working in a clinical environment characterised by repeated procedural activities.