Experience with forced transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Students’ cognitive performance and their perceptions of teaching

Introduction: The forced transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted medical education significantly. Methods: In this paper, the authors compare the performance of Year 1 and 2 classes of medical students who took the same courses either online (2019-2020) or face-to-face (2018-2019), and compare their evaluation of these courses. The authors also present results of three survey questions delivered to current Year 1 medical students on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of online learning and suggestions for improvement. Results: Performance and evaluation scores of Year 1 and 2 classes was similar irrespective of the mode of delivery of the course in question. 30 current (2019-2020) Year 1 students responded to the survey questions with a response rate of 25.4%. Some of the cited disadvantages had to do with technical, infrastructural and faculty know-how and support. But the more challenging limitations had to do with the process of learning and what facilitates it, the students’ ability to self-regulate and to motivate themselves, the negative impact of isolation, loss of socialisation and interaction with peers and faculty, and the almost total lack of hands-on experiences. Conclusion: Rapid transition to online learning did not affect student knowledge acquisition negatively. As such, the sudden shift to online education might not be a totally negative development and can be harnessed to drive a more progressive medical education agenda. These results are particularly important considering the several disadvantages that the students cited in relation to the online delivery of the courses.

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Students’ initial perspectives on online learning experience in China during the COVID-19 outbreak: expanding online education for future doctors on a national scale

BMC Medical Education ◽

10.1186/s12909-021-03005-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Li Li ◽

Hongbin Wu ◽

A’na Xie ◽

Xiaoyang Ye ◽

Cheng Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Online Learning ◽

Medical Students ◽

Online Education ◽

Early Stage ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Medical Undergraduate ◽

Nationally Representative

Abstract Background During the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak in China, most medical undergraduate programs have to eventually embrace the maneuver of transferring to nearly 100% online-learning as a new routine for different curricula. And there is a lack of empirical evidence of effective medical education curriculum that has been completely implemented in an online format. This study summarizes medical students’ perspectives regarding online-learning experience during the COVID-19 outbreak and presents reflection on medical education. Methods From February 21st to March 14th, 2020, the authors conducted survey of a nationally representative sample of undergraduate medical students from 90 medical schools in China. Participant demographics and responses were tabulated, and independent sample t-tests as well as multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of demographic characteristics, prior online learning experience, and orientation with students’ perspectives on the online learning experience. Results Among 118,030 medical students participated in the survey (response rate 52.4%), 99,559 provided valid data for the analysis. The sample is fairly nationally representative. 65.7% (65,389/99,559) supported great orientation and 62.1% (61,818/99,559) reported that they were satisfied with the ongoing online-learning experience. The most common problem students would encounter was the network congestion (76,277/99,559; 76.6%). Demographics, learning phases, and academic performance were associated with online-learning engagement and perceptions. Formal orientation and prior PU (perceived usefulness of online learning) were significantly positively associated with the satisfaction and evaluation of the online learning experience (p < 0.001). Conclusions Data from this national survey indicates a relatively positive role of online learning as a formal teaching/learning approach in medical education. Considerations should be made regarding such application in aspects of students’ different learning phases. We suggest that further policy interventions should be taken from technological, organizational, environmental, as well as individual aspects, to help improve the outcome of online learning for future doctors.

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Experiences of international medical students enrolled in Chinese medical institutions towards online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.12061 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e12061

Author(s):

Sarfraz Aslam ◽

Huma Akram ◽

Atif Saleem ◽

BaoHui Zhang

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Online Education ◽

Online Teaching ◽

Clinical Skills ◽

International Medical ◽

Clinical Practices ◽

Internet Connection ◽

Validated Questionnaire ◽

Medical Institutions

Introduction . The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to pause. One hundred and eighty-eight countries have imposed countrywide school closures, affecting more than 1.5 billion children and youths. The majority of academic leaders are currently encouraging online education to resolve this crisis. This study aimed to investigate international medical students’ (IMS) experiences of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Data were collected online using a validated questionnaire and one open-ended question, presented on the Google forms platform. The study attracted responses from 1,107 IMS volunteer participants. IBM SPSS v. 25, GraphPad Prism v. 9, and MindManager v. 2018 were used for data analysis. All variables were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. The Mann–Whitney U test was used in subgroup analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis test was also applied for year-wise comparisons. Open-ended text responses were analyzed qualitatively, extracting themes by which responses were classified. Results Among 1,107 respondents, a total of 67.8% were males, and the majority (63.1%) of the IMS were in the age group of 21–23 years. The results show that more than half of the respondents reported their Internet connection quality as poor to average. Poor Internet connection severely affected IMS online learning experience. Persistent and recurrent issues with Internet access became a significant concern for IMS. Lack of electricity is one of the factors that can contribute to poor learning output and dissatisfaction with online teaching. IMS perceive online medical education as unhelpful in several phases of the training, such as improving their clinical skills, knowledge, and discussion skills. Conclusions During these unprecedented periods, online teaching has allowed medical education to continue. However, IMS are generally dissatisfied with online teaching. Medical students must visualize the human body, so supportive technologies are important to compensate for the lack of clinical practices. Medical institutions may need to invest in faculty training programs and continually adjust to enhance the content of online training and international partnerships. A switch from conventional face-to-face teaching to a fully functional virtual education framework in the medical education field will take time and experience.

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Online Learning Using Google Classroom: Undergraduate Medical Students and Paediatric Residents Perspectives in the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health ◽

10.9734/ijtdh/2020/v41i1830376 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 8-15

Author(s):

I. E. Yarhere ◽

I. O. Obuzor ◽

E. Fomsi

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Online Learning ◽

Medical Students ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Electric Energy ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Port Harcourt ◽

Internet Availability ◽

Learning Platforms

Schools in Nigeria were shut down and lectures stopped altogether. The capacity of the Nigerian educational environment to carry out these online interactions may be stretched thin with many foreseeable challenges. Objectives: To identify the current familiarity and use of online classroom platforms by medical students and Paediatric residents, and to identify the barriers to its use for medical education. Methods: A descriptive comparative study design using a semi-structured online questionnaire Google survey of 128 medical students and residents in training in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital assessing demographics, availability of tools for online learning and application. Results: Both groups had high familiarity, but low use, of Google classroom, and preferred mobile devices to laptops. There was high familiarity 90.6%, but low use 42.2%, of Google classroom and the ease of using Google classroom for interphasing or interacting between learners and facilitators was affected by Internet availability, Pearson correlation, 0.185, p = 0.037, but not electric power availability, Pearson correlation, 0.135, p = 0.133. Conclusions: There is an overall high awareness of a range of the Google classroom LMS platform by both medical students and residents. However, constant electric energy supply, availability of internet and competence in preparing multimedia presentations and uploading these for assessment may enhance the use of online learning platforms in Nigeria for undergraduate and post graduate medical education.

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Bringing everyone on board: what role can medical students play in the COVID-19 pandemic?

Revista de Medicina ◽

10.11606/issn.1679-9836.v99i3pi-iv ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 99 (3) ◽

pp. i-iv ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Izabel Cristina Rios ◽

Marina Alves Martins Siqueira ◽

Matheus Belloni Torsani ◽

Rosemeire K. Hangai ◽

Solange R. G. Fusco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Health Systems ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Human Life ◽

Contemporary Society ◽

Healthcare Outcomes ◽

Emergency Plans ◽

Academic Health ◽

Viral Dissemination

The fast spread of the COVID-19 epidemic has imposed unprecedented challenges to contemporary society, impacting several aspects of human life globally. Strict social distancing protocols had to be implemented in affected countries to contribute to reduce viral dissemination, and consequently, limit acquisition of new infections. Health systems were compelled to put emergency plans in place to cope with the overburden of potentially severe cases needing hospitalization, with the ultimate aim to preserve as many lives as possible. Academic health systems worldwide were required to propose novel strategies to maximize healthcare outcomes while mitigating negative impact on medical education.[...]

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Online communication in the educational environment of Russia and Germany: functional and dysfunctional effects of digitalization

Communicology ◽

10.21453/2311-3065-2021-9-4-97-113 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 97-113

Author(s):

S. V. Chugrov ◽

D. V. Galitskaya

Keyword(s):

Online Learning ◽

Online Education ◽

Social Relations ◽

Online Survey ◽

Online Communication ◽

Educational Environment ◽

Higher Education System ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Teachers And Students ◽

German Universities

Nowadays, the ability of the higher education system to adapt to external conditions is facing the challenge of online transformation and digitalization against the background of changes in the format of social relations in the direction of greater pluralism, demassification of information sources, channels and recipients. The relevance of the study lies in the need to assess the consequences of the transition to online communication of teachers and students in order to identify new functional / dysfunctional effects of digitization of the educational environment. The paper represents the results of an online survey (spring – summer of 2020), when the pandemic of the new coronavirus led to the transition to distance learning. The survey was conducted among students of Russian and German universities to identify the attitude of students to online education. Possible unintentional consequences of digitalization of the educational environment were identified. On the basis respondents’ answers, the authors have analyzed emotional attitude of Russian and German students to the compulsory transition to online learning as well as their assessments of its positive and negative aspects. The authors provide ratio of the advantages and disadvantages of online learning in the perception of Russian and German students, highlight some side effects of online communication between teachers and students, as well as the concerns of students caused by the transition to a new communication format. According to students of Russian and German universities, online communication is not beneficial for the quality of education. The increased time spent in front of the computer screen is considered harmful. Besides, students in both countries are concerned with the weakening of social ties and the loss of social contacts.

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Capacities and Obstacles of Kuwait Medical Educational Sector in Transitioning Education System to Online Form: A Paradigm Shift

International Journal of Business and Management ◽

10.5539/ijbm.v16n12p88 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. 88

Author(s):

Shafi AlDousari

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Online Learning ◽

Online Education ◽

Education System ◽

Online Teaching ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Online Teaching And Learning ◽

E Mail ◽

Online Form

Background: During this coronavirus outbreak, online teaching and learning have become highly common in medical education. The majority of students and professors have transitioned to this comparatively modern online learning model. While faculty members found the transition to online education to be overwhelming, they persevered. Aim: study aims to investigate the Kuwait Medical educational sector's capacities and obstacles in transitioning the education system to the online form. Method: This study used a close-ended survey questionnaire constructed on Google Forms and distributed to the participants via e-mail. The study used an online Google form for formulating the questionnaire survey, which was later sent to the participants via e-mail. Results: The results showed that most of the faculty members (53%) were satisfied with online learning. The most prominent difficulty emphasized by the faculty members (35%) was network vulnerability n online teaching. The majority of the faculty members (45%) agreed that transitioning to remote teaching is a big challenge and that there is inequality for different technology uses (56%). Conclusion: Online learning has been increasingly relevant in medical education in recent months. It has its own set of benefits for improving students' knowledge and skills, and it may be used as an instructional tool in medical school.

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Challenges and Opportunities for Russian Higher Education amid COVID-19: Teachers’ Perspective

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci10120368 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 368

Author(s):

Nadezhda Almazova ◽

Elena Krylova ◽

Anna Rubtsova ◽

Maria Odinokaya

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Online Learning ◽

Online Education ◽

Online Teaching ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Academic Staff ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Educational Process ◽

University Teachers ◽

Russian Higher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously affected higher education systems in Russia and all over the world, forcing to transform curriculum into an online format, which is a challenge for all the educational process participants. The current study discusses the implementation of online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Russian higher education context and investigates the challenges experienced by university teachers during this period to define their readiness for online education. To address the above-mentioned issues, a study was conducted in Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. A variety of methods of scientific and pedagogical research were used including systematic structural analysis, synthesis, work with research papers, the generalization of experience and experimental work, observation, surveys, etc., with 87 university teachers asked to respond to several sets of questions describing their online teaching experience after the launch of online education amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis of the participants’ answers helped to identify the following main challenges experienced by university teachers: computer literacy level, the university electronic environment and support, academic staff readiness and students’ readiness for online learning, the last two being the most important hindering the implementation of the efficient online education process. It was also underlined by most respondents that methodological work of a teacher in a digital educational environment differs from conventional teaching methods. Thus, psychological, technological, methodological support and teachers’ professional development programs are of vital importance to minimize the negative impact of the rapid changes of the educational process and to ensure efficient online education.

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El aprendizaje basado en problemas como una estrategia didáctica para la educación médica

Studies in the Economic History of Southern Africa ◽

10.22201/fm.24484865e.2020.63.1.07 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 42-47

Author(s):

Kevin David Laguna Maldonado ◽

Deyamira Matuz Mares

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Key Words ◽

Teaching Strategies ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

New Challenges

Medical education faces new challenges in the development and acquisition of competencies in medical students, and although there are teaching strategies that can be helpful to reach this goal, PBL is one of the best strategies. In order to take advantage of PBL, it is important to understand the method and the various ways in which it has been implemented, as well as to identify the difficulties and disadvantages of PBL. The objective of this article is to review the PBL method, its advantages and disadvantages, and some frequent mistakes in its implementation, emphasizing the Mexican context. Key words: Medical education; PBL; didactic; competences

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Principles of Instructional Design for E-Learning and Online Learning Practices

Blended Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0783-3.ch028 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 551-585

Author(s):

Erdem Demiroz

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Educational Technology ◽

Online Learning ◽

Instructional Design ◽

Online Education ◽

21St Century ◽

Pedagogical Practices ◽

Self Directed Learning ◽

Learning Practices ◽

E Learning

The dramatic transition from the post-Flexnerian model to the models of 21st century requires pedagogical practices such as teaching techniques, methods, and strategies to be modernized in order to address the diverse needs of 21st century medical students. E-learning and online education applications provide enriched opportunities for redesigning health education, and they are widely discussed in life-long learning, self-directed learning, and competency-based instructional practices. Advancements in educational technology, and the best practices of integrating educational technology with pedagogy, are not clearly outlined in medical education although e-learning and online education have the potential to address the requirements of modernized medical education. The overall goals of the chapter are to discuss technology-supported instructional design practices in medical education by emphasizing learner characteristics, addressing principles of instructional design for online teaching practices, and providing evaluation tools that guide designers to develop better online learning practices for advancing medical education through technology.

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Perception of medical students about online learning in the COVID-19 era

Biomedicine ◽

10.51248/.v41i1.549 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 139-145

Author(s):

Kalpana Ramachandran ◽

Robert Dinesh Kumar

Keyword(s):

Online Learning ◽

Medical Students ◽

Online Education ◽

Online Teaching ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

P Value ◽

First Year ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Internet Connectivity ◽

First Year Medical Students

Introduction and Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a disruption in the academic schedule. As UNESCO observes an 87% interruption in student learning across the globe, it is undeniable that e-learning would have a major role to play in the future and both teachers and learners are getting accustomed to this ‘New Normalcy’. This survey analyses the perception of medical first-year students about online learning in the COVID-19 era. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire based study was done and first year medical students were asked to respond. The respondents were asked to answer the questions in Likert-scale, from 1-5. Statistical analysis was done and Test for one proportion was calculated using ‘z’ test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 122 first year medical students responded to the survey. More than two-thirds of the respondents were females (67%). About 78% of respondents find online learning interesting and enjoyable. More than 80% of students found online education very satisfactory in all aspects. Problems with internet connectivity was the principal challenge faced by the students during online learning. An overwhelming 70% of students felt online teaching to be very beneficial. Conclusion: The pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to the academic schedule. Although many challenges were faced by the teachers and learners, internet connectivity continued to be a major problem in online education. It is the duty of every educationist to ensure an uninterrupted, continuous and an effective process of teaching and learning.

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