Medical Informatics and E-Learning Unit, Medical Education Department, Health Informatics and Promotion Research Chair, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
UM eHealth Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Apr 8;21(1):199. doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02639-2.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Medical schools have evolved toward competency-based education and active learner-centered strategies. Medical informatics course was introduced in 2011 in the 3rd year at the College of Medicine (CoM), King Saud University (KSU), to enhance future medical graduates with technological and information competencies. Modified team-based learning and blended learning were emphasized using face-to-face lectures, various e-learning technologies, workshop and seminars. The current study's main objective was to assess students' perceptions towards blended and modified team-based learning at the CoM in KSU.
A survey was distributed to medical students in three consecutive years: 2017-2019. The survey contains items regarding student perception of various types of blended learning techniques applied in the course. The survey was administered using i-Clicker; an interactive device that enables students to answer survey questions. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the perception of students on these blended learning dimensions investigated.
Seven-hundred and one student responded to the questionnaire (male; 69.5%, female 30.5%). Out of which, 59.1% of students found team interactions positively supported discussions and asked questions freely, and 48.1% expressed that working in groups facilitated their learning process. However, 56.0% of students chose face-to-face lectures as the most preferred class activities followed by discussion 23.8%. More than 78% of participants agree that online quizzes are good experience and enjoyable. Grade center where students can check for marks and attendance also received high perception (66.3%).
Introducing modified team-based and blended-learning are considered challenging, and therefore, investigating their perceptions can provide useful insights into how these methods could be used more effectively. The blended-learning technique is highly essential in teaching medical informatics to overcome challenges faced due to a large number of students and the need for various exposures to reach the course's learning goals. Moreover, it is noticed that students were engaged in face-to-face and online activities, furthermore, modified team-based learning reported facilitating learning and asking questions without embarrassment.
医学院校已经朝着以能力为基础的教育和以主动学习者为中心的策略发展。2011 年，沙特国王大学（KSU）医学院（CoM）在第 3 年开设了医学信息学课程，旨在增强未来医学毕业生的技术和信息能力。本课程强调使用面对面讲座、各种电子学习技术、讲习班和研讨会来实施改良团队学习和混合学习。本研究的主要目的是评估 KSU CoM 学生对混合式和改良团队学习的看法。
我们在连续三年（2017-2019 年）向医学生发放了一份调查问卷。该问卷包含了学生对课程中应用的各种混合学习技术的看法。使用 i-Clicker 来管理问卷，这是一种可以使学生回答问卷问题的互动设备。我们使用描述性统计来检验学生对这些混合学习维度的看法。
701 名学生对问卷做出了回应（男生占 69.5%，女生占 30.5%）。其中，59.1%的学生认为团队互动积极支持讨论并自由提问，48.1%的学生表示小组合作促进了他们的学习过程。然而，56.0%的学生选择面对面讲座作为他们最喜爱的课堂活动，其次是讨论（占 23.8%）。超过 78%的参与者认为在线测验是很好的体验，令人愉快。学生可以在成绩中心查看成绩和出勤情况，该系统也获得了很高的评价（占 66.3%）。
引入改良团队学习和混合学习被认为是具有挑战性的，因此，调查他们的看法可以为如何更有效地使用这些方法提供有用的见解。混合学习技术在教授医学信息学方面非常重要，可以克服由于学生人数众多和需要各种机会来实现课程学习目标而面临的挑战。此外，我们注意到学生参与了面对面和在线活动，并且改良团队学习报告促进了学习和提问，而不会让人感到尴尬。
