http://journal.medisysedutech.com/ 15 Background Learning is a method of acquisition of knowledge, skill, and attitude for a particular purpose. Imparting knowledge is the main crux of teaching. Benjamin Bloom introduced the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in 1956, famously known as Bloom’s Taxonomy. It was further revised in 2001 to include a more dynamic conception of classification which highlighted the use of action words to describe the cognitive process which underlies a particular aspect of learning. [1] These action words help in defining and organizing objectives and thus help in designing appropriate learning objectives, assessments, and learning resources for the students. These levels help to identify various stages and aspects of teaching and learning. *Correspondence: 14maddy@gmail.com Consultant Ophthalmologist, Yenepoya Specialty Hospital, Mangalore, Karnataka-575001, India There are various methods of teaching and are broadly divided into Teacher-centered and Student-centered approach. [2] In the former, the Teacher is the main authority figure and the students passively gain knowledge. Direct instruction, flipped classrooms (use of pre-recorded lectures), and kinesthetic learning are examples of Teacher-centered learning. In student-centered learning, both the students and the teacher play an equal role in the process. These include differentiated instruction, inquiry- based learning, expeditionary learning, personalized learning, and game-based learning. Learning methods can also be divided as high-Tech and low-Tech methods, based on the level of technology used. Self-directed learning is an essential component of student-centered learning. Self-Directed Learning Self-directed learning (SDL) or autodidacticism is a method of learning without guidance from a teacher or an institution. It is an active process in which the learner has to Madhurima K Nayak MediSys J Med Sci 2020 Volume 1 Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.51159/MediSysJMedSci.2020.v01i01.004 MediSys Journal of Medical Sciences Review article Open Access Various Methods of Self-Directed Learning in Medical Education Madhurima K Nayak 1 *, Vijetha Shenoy Belle 2 Abstract Self-directed learning (SDL) is a form of education where the student or the learner plays an active role in knowledge, skill, and attitude acquisition. Medical Education requires a student to be familiar with the concepts of self-directed learning and this helps a graduate prepare himself to be a lifelong learner. It is mainly of two types: Facilitated learning, where the teacher plays the role of a facilitator, designs the learning process, teaches when necessary, corrects when wrong, and assesses the learner at the conclusion; and self-paced learning, in which the learner has a more active role in choosing his material of study, learns at his own pace and attends assessments guided by a teacher. The types of facilitated learning include Audio-video lectures, Small group discussions, donut rounds, flipped classrooms and the types of self-paced learning include online courses and digital or e-books. This review makes an effort to delve into the core aspects of self-directed learning in each of these types, their unique methods, benefits and disadvantages, and modes of assessments. Keywords: Medical Education, Learning, Teaching Rounds, Students Received 2020 September 1; Revised 2020 September 30; Accepted 2020 October 26; Published Online 2020 December 3 © The Author(s) 2020. This article is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/ The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. * 1 Consultant Ophthalmologist, Yenepoya Specialty Hospital, Mangalore, Karnataka-575001. 2 Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Educ tion, Karnataka-576104.