OBJECTIVE Learning behaviours (LBs) are the cornerstone of research in medical education, and are influenced by student characteristics and contextual factors. We wanted to know how students react to changes in the academic context. We explored if and how a student participating in a one-year exchange programme adapted his LBs to the new academic context and back again upon returning to his home-university.
METHOD Our study took place at the medical schools (MSs) of Lausanne University (Switzerland; home-university) and Galway University (Ireland; host-university). A mixed-method design with quantitative (survey) and qualitative components (analytic autoethnography (AA)) was employed. Review of official documents allowed characterisation of both academic contexts. Surveys permitted description of the learning practices of students at each site. A Swiss student doing an exchange year underwent AA. Analyses of his field notes allowed understanding evolution of LBs during and after the exchange.
RESULTS The two MSs offered contrasting curricula. Surveys showed divergent results in learning activities. Students at the home-university favoured lecture slides, whereas students at the host- university worked on a wider range of resources (books, online resources, lecture slides). AA showed how our student adapted his LBs to his new academic environments.
CONCLUSION Adaptation unfolded in three phases and re-adaptation in two phases. LB adjustments were driven by five contextual factors: schedule load, teaching methods, curriculum goals, assessment strategy, and communication with teachers and local students. The radical change in LBs of our student showed the powerful influence of clinical and academic contexts in comparison with the effects of student factors.