I think that the most logical way to open this section of the blog is with an overview of the six key learning theories that have most relevance to medical and clinical education. Knowing how people learn in different ways and contexts, and which types of learning are more applicable to different situations is central to any learning opportunity – so it’s worth having at least a general understanding of these six.

As with much of the theory that I’ve pulled together for this blog, these theories were not developed specifically for medical education – although I have targeted the slides in that way to highlight how they might be applied in that context. What I love most about education is that it allows you to read widely between disciplines (from science and psychology to philosophy and sociology) – we ‘borrow’ and re-purpose ideas according to our own settings and requirements.