Increasing student grades in large online subjects: Combining tutorial support with technology

Three large first-year undergraduate subjects with 240-517 enrolled students were selected to participate in this pilot study. A meeting scheduling tool was embedded in the learning management system and thirty-minute, one-on-one tutorial sessions were available to students in the 2 weeks leading up to the due date of at least one large written task. Thirty one percent (31%) of enrolled students attended at least one appointment with a tutor. There was no difference in the average assessment mark that students obtained before the first tutorial was offered between those who attended a tutorial session for a later assessment item and those who did not. There was a significant increase in the average cumulative grade (10%, p<0.05) of students who attended a tutorial. The novel use of the calendar booking tool combined with online meeting technology provides a simple and convenient method to provide personalised feedback to a large cohort of students.

IMPACT OF A SINGLE TUTORIAL SESSION ON THE TECHNIQUE OF USING PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT BY HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Objective: To determine the impact of a single tutorial session on the technique of donning and doffing the personal protective equipment by health care workers. Study Design: Cross-sectional comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: CMH Landi Kotal Cantt, from 1st March 2020 to 10th June 2020. Patients and Methods: The study was conducted on 62 health workers, working in CMH Landi Kotal Cantt. They were asked to demonstrate donning and doffing surgical masks, gowns and gloves and the steps were evaluated as per a standardized checklist. Then, the participants were given a single tutorial of the donning and doffing technique of personal protective equipment. They were asked to demonstrate their technique of personal protective equipment use one week, one month and three months after the tutorial. Any improvement was recorded in the checklist used earlier. Results: The correct donning and doffing technique of personal protective equipment were demonstrated by 22 and 14 participants respectively before the tutorial. When evaluated one week after the tutorial, this number increased to 48 and 38 respectively, showing significant improvement (p<0.05). The technique of personal protective equipment use deteriorated significantly one month of the tutorial and deteriorated further after three months (p<0.05). The most common fault while donning and doffing the equipment was the incorrect donning sequence, and self-contamination while taking off the gloves, respectively. Conclusion: A single tutorial session results in significant improvement in the technique of using personal protective equipment by health care workers but the effect is lost over time.

Assessment of innovations in tutorial method of teaching among medical students

Background: The main focus of a tutorial is to make learning more interactive. Enthusiasm and innovations of tutors make tutorials more effective. This study was done to assess the usefulness of few innovative approaches applied during a tutorial session among medical students.Methods: A total of 84 medical undergraduate students were divided in to seven groups with 12 students in each group with a faculty as a facilitator. A pretest was conducted among the students to assess their knowledge and understanding on the topic of discussion. Then the students were given a review article on the topic of discussion to read followed by group discussion. After this each group was assessed by the way of a quiz programme and individually by a post test.Results: The mean scores obtained in the pretest increased significantly in the post test from 53.6% to 83.7%. Most of the students agreed upon the various advantages of this method of teaching. About 97% of the students rated this method of teaching as good and above.Conclusions: Tutorials are effective methods of teaching medical graduates. The innovations used in this study were well appreciated by the students.