title: Sociomateriality: a theoretical framework for studying distributed medical education.
abstract: Distributed medical education (DME) is a type of distance learning in which students participate in medical education from diverse geographic locations using Web conferencing, videoconferencing, e-learning, and similar tools. DME is becoming increasingly widespread in North America and around the world.Although relatively new to medical education, distance learning has a long history in the broader field of education and a related body of literature that speaks to the importance of engaging in rigorous and theoretically informed studies of distance learning. The existing DME literature is helpful, but it has been largely descriptive and lacks a critical "lens"-that is, a theoretical perspective from which to rigorously conceptualize and interrogate DME's social (relationships, people) and material (technologies, tools) aspects.The authors describe DME and theories about distance learning and show that such theories focus on social, pedagogical, and cognitive considerations without adequately taking into account material factors. They address this gap by proposing sociomateriality as a theoretical framework allowing researchers and educators to study DME and (1) understand and consider previously obscured actors, infrastructure, and other factors that, on the surface, seem unrelated and even unimportant; (2) see clearly how the social and material components of learning are intertwined in fluid, messy, and often uncertain ways; and (3) perhaps think differently, even in ways that disrupt traditional approaches, as they explore DME. The authors conclude that DME brings with it substantial investments of social and material resources, and therefore needs careful study, using approaches that embrace its complexity.
authors.affiliation: A. MacLeod is associate professor, Division of Medical Education, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. O. Kits is research methodologist (qualitative), Research Methods Unit, Capital District Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. E. Whelan is associate professor, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. C. Fournier is research associate, Division of Medical Education, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. K. Wilson is assistant professor, Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. G. Power is director of medical information technology, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. K. Mann is professor emeritus, Division of Medical Education, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. J. Tummons is lecturer in education, Faculty of Education, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom. P.A. Brown is program evaluation specialist, Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, Faculty of Medicine, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: MacLeod
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kits
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Whelan
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Power
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tummons
authors.forename: Peggy Alexiadis
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D020375:Education, Distance; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D017145:Models, Educational; D066269:Social Theory