In the situated learning approach, knowledge and skills are learned in contexts that reflect how knowledge is obtained and applied in everyday situations. As an instructional strategy, situated cognition is a means for relating subject matter to learners' needs and concerns. Four major premises guide the development of classroom activities for…

Continuing education in the health professions should stress the process approach--teaching learners how to learn. The administrator of continuing medical education should be an adult educator trained to be an educational facilitator, instructional designer, and manager of the learning environment. (SK)

Current controversies regarding physician competency and a growing concern about the rapid obsolescence of medical knowledge are factors in a movement to require physicians to participate in continuing medical education. If programs become mandatory, educators should apply their skills and knowledge of adult learning in developing programs.…