Practice and exploration of the "student-centered" multielement fusion teaching mode in human anatomy

Effects of six teaching strategies on medical students: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Mounting evidence has suggested that novel teaching strategies have a positive impact on the quality and efficiency of medical education. However, the comprehensive evidence about the superiority among various strategies is not clear. To address this issue, we aim to conduct a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to evaluate the effects of six main strategies on medical education, including case-based learning, problem-based learning, team-based learning, flipped classrooms, simulation-based education and bridge-in, objective, preassessment, participatory learning, postassessment and summary.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A systematic search will be conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library, covering studies published from database inception to November 2023. Randomised controlled trials which evaluated the different teaching methods and meet the eligibility criteria will be included. The effectiveness of medical students' learning, which is evaluated by theoretical test score, experimental or practical test score, will be analysed as the primary outcomes. Besides, the secondary outcomes consist of learning satisfaction of students and formative evaluation score. The study selection and data extraction will be independently performed by two authors. The risk of bias in each study will be assessed using V.2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomised controlled trials. To compare the effects of six teaching strategies, pairwise meta-analysis and NMA will be performed using Rev Man, STATA and R software. Statistical analyses including homogeneity tests, sensitivity analysis, consistency tests, subgroup analysis, Egger's test and publication bias will also be completed.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

No formal research ethics approval is required because this study is a meta-analysis based on published studies. The results will be disseminated to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.

PROTOCOL REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42023456050.

Application of a new multi-element integrated teaching mode based on bite-sized teaching, flipped classroom, and MOOC in clinical teaching of obstetrics and gynaecology

CONTEXT

Effective clinical medical student education includes attention to teaching approaches. This study assessed the impact of a new multi-element teaching mode that utilizes Bite-Sized Teaching, flipped classroom, and MOOC on learner perception in an Obstetrics and gynaecology clerkship.

METHODS

A Two-stage crossover design study was conducted of a multi-element teaching mode compared to traditional teaching mode in an academic year. Participants included Ninety-six medical students practicing obstetrics and gynecology in our hospital, randomly divided into two groups respectively underwent multi-element teaching mode and traditional teaching mode. After each semester, a final test (including theoretical and clinical practical test) was conducted.When an academic year was completed, post intervention survey assessed learner perceptions of the intervention.

RESULT

In order to comprehensively test students' performance after study, we take theoretical and practical examinations. The theoretical examination mainly tests students' grasp of basic knowledge points, while the practical examination focuses on the examination of students' diagnosis and treatment of diseases. There were statistically significant differences both in the theoretical and clinical practical scores between the new multi-element integrated teaching mode and the traditional teaching mode, specifically as follows: In the end of first semester, the theoretical scores of the two groups were respective 43.75 ± 3.42 vs. 42.07 ± 2.90, and clinic practical test scores were respective 44.93 ± 2.42 vs. 43.37 ± 2.52; In the end of second semester, the theoretical scores of the two groups were respective 44.30 ± 2.69 vs. 42.25 ± 3.39, and clinic practical test scores were respective 43.79 ± 2.25 vs. 41.93 ± 2.80.(p < 0.05). The results of questionnaires demonstrated that 80.21% of the students showed preference for the new multi-element integrated teaching mode comparing to traditional teaching methods.

CONCLUSION

The new multi-element integrated teaching mode is well accepted by the students and can improve the students' mastery of knowledge, and can improve the students' clinical comprehensive ability. The new multi-element integrated teaching mode is shown more preference than traditional teaching mode in the teaching of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Further long term study is needed carried out to consolidate our conclusion. The new multi-element integrated teaching mode may have positive effects on clinical teaching of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Study of nonsynchronous online teaching of regional anatomy for international students integrated with medical humanities and local culture during COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed unexpected disruptions to anatomical educational practice, the teaching of regional anatomy for international students which has changed to an online format and faces various challenges. The challenges include creating online education homogeneous/equivalent to offline education, introducing local culture to international students, and educating students in medical humanities and ethics.

METHODS

To address these problems, the teaching staff integrated medical humanities and local culture into nonsynchronous online teaching of regional anatomy.

RESULTS

The nonsynchronous online teaching with interpreted videos of dissections does not significantly affect the experimental and total scores of regional anatomy courses for international students. Integrating medical humanities and local culture into this teaching model is appreciated by them and also has a good teaching effect.

CONCLUSION

Students not only gained professional knowledge but also obtained enhanced exposure to local culture and professional spirit from this regional anatomy education.

Multidimensional evaluation of teaching strategies for pharmacology based on a comprehensive analysis involving 21,269 students

Background: Given the limitations of traditional pharmacology pedagogical method, diverse novel teaching methods have been widely explored. In this study, we performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) to evaluate the effects of different strategies in pharmacology education.

Methods: Literature databases were searched from their inception to November 2022, and the studies were screened according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria to extract important information. Outcomes, including theoretical test scores, experimental test scores, subjective test scores, satisfaction scores, and the proportion of satisfaction, were analyzed using R software (version 3.6.1) and STATA (version 15). The NMA was conducted with a random-effects model under the Bayesian framework to calculate odds ratios (ORs) or mean differences (MDs) with associated 95% credible intervals (95% CIs). Surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) probability values were calculated to rank the teaching methods examined.

Results: A total of 150 studies involving 21,269 students were included. This NMA systematically evaluated 24 teaching strategies, such as problem-based learning (PBL), team-based learning (TBL), case-based learning (CBL) and flipped classrooms (FC), etc., The results of the NMA showed that, PBL combined with CBL was most likely to improve students’ theoretical and subjective test scores (SUCRA = 75.49 and 98.19%, respectively), TBL was most likely to improve the experimental test score (SUCRA = 92.38%) and the satisfaction score (SUCRA = 88.37%), while FC had the highest probability of being the best option for improving the proportion of satisfaction (SUCRA = 84.45%).

Conclusion: The current evidence indicates that TBL, PBL combined with CBL, and FC might be optimal strategies for pharmacology education since they have a more beneficial effect on students.

Reflection on the teaching of student-centred formative assessment in medical curricula: an investigation from the perspective of medical students

BACKGROUND

Formative assessment (FA) is becoming increasingly common in higher education, although the teaching practice of student-centred FA in medical curricula is still very limited. In addition, there is a lack of theoretical and pedagogical practice studies observing FA from medical students' perspectives. The aim of this study is to explore and understand ways to improve student-centred FA, and to provide a practical framework for the future construction of an FA index system in medical curricula.

METHODS

This study used questionnaire data from undergraduate students in clinical medicine, preventive medicine, radiology, and nursing at a comprehensive university in China. The feelings of medical students upon receiving student-centred FA, assessment of faculty feedback, and satisfaction were analysed descriptively.

RESULTS

Of the 924 medical students surveyed, 37.1% had a general understanding of FA, 94.2% believed that the subject of teaching assessment was the teacher, 59% believed that teacher feedback on learning tasks was effective, and 36.3% received teacher feedback on learning tasks within one week. In addition, student satisfaction results show that students' satisfaction with teacher feedback was 1.71 ± 0.747 points, and their satisfaction with learning tasks was 1.83 ± 0.826 points.

CONCLUSION

Students as participants and collaborators in FA provide valid feedback for improving student-centred FA in terms of student cognition, empowered participation, and humanism. In addition, we suggest that medical educators avoid taking student satisfaction as a single indicator for measuring student-centred FA and to try to build an assessment index system of FA, to highlight the advantages of FA in medical curricula.

Exploration and Practice of the Relationship between College Students' Learning Adaptation and Mental Health under the Information-Based Teaching Environment of Potential Profile Analysis

In order to further investigate and understand the relationship between college students' learning adaptation process and mental health in the learning process under the information-based teaching environment, this paper makes a questionnaire survey on college students' learning adaptation and mental health and selects 408 college students as the research object. The results show that the potential profile analysis shows that with the development of network and informatization, the learning adaptability of college students can be divided into four types: troubled group (accounting for 7.598%), marginal adaptive group (accounting for 42.892%), maladaptive group (accounting for 4.167%), and good adaptive group (accounting for 45.343%). The mental health level of the latter two is better, and the mental health level of the first two is worse. Students who do not adapt to learning and students who adapt well show common characteristics. Most of them are only children, and their parents have a high level of education. This kind of family often has good material conditions and loose family atmosphere, which will also form a protective mechanism for students' mental health, making students have good self-acceptance ability and good mental health level.

Work station learning activities (WSLA) through the ICAP framework: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Engaging, student-centered active learning activities, such as team-based learning (TBL) and laboratory practices, is beneficial to integrate knowledge, particularly in Medicine degree. Previously, we designed and implemented workstation learning activities (WSLA) inspired by TBL, which proved effective for learning requiring higher-order thinking skills. We now hypothesize that WSLA may also have the potential to be framed into a theoretical model that stratifies learning into interactive, constructive, active and passive modes (ICAP hypothesis).

METHODS

An interpretive qualitative research study was conducted to evaluate this idea. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students enrolled in health science programs after WSLA sessions, consisting of a series of activities accompanying a traditional lecture. Interviews were analyzed according to a deductive approach. Theoretical themes and subthemes driving the analysis were organized around the ICAP modes: passive, active, constructive, and interactive. An inductive approach was applied to provide additional insights.

RESULTS

Students valued preparatory lectures as well as corresponding WSLA activities as highly motivating, especially for the ability to integrate concepts. Although previous research shows that not all activities require high levels of cognitive engagement, students appreciated the opportunity the WSLA provided to discuss and clarify concepts as a group. Furthermore, feedback from professors and peers was highly appreciated, and helped students to construct new knowledge.

CONCLUSION

In this work, by focusing in understanding the student's experience, we have evaluated for the first time the WSLA approach in relation to the ICAP model. We found that not only the activity type determines the learning mode, but also the environment accompanying WSLA is a determining factor. Our findings can guide future development of the WSLA approach, which represents an interactive learning methodology with strong potential within the ICAP framework.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Not applicable.

Flipped classroom improves student learning outcome in Chinese pharmacy education: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The application of flipped classroom (FC) pedagogy has recently become increasingly popular in Chinese pharmacy education. However, its effectiveness in improving student learning has not yet been assessed. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of teaching with such pedagogical approach by examining studies that compare the FC approach with the traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) module through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Seven databases, including the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journals Database, Chinese Wanfang database, and China Biomedical Literature Database, were searched from the inception to 30 June 2021, to identify eligible articles of randomized controlled studies. The primary outcomes included the theoretical and experimental test scores, and the secondary outcomes were the results from questionnaires about the number of students who preferred the FC or endorsed its improving effects on their learning enthusiasm, self-learning ability, thinking skills, communication skills, and learning efficiency. The quantitative synthesis was conducted with Revman V.5.3 software following the Cochrane Reviewer’s Handbook guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement.

Results: Eleven eligible studies published from 2017 to 2020 enrolling 1,200 students were included in this meta-analysis. The quantitative synthesis demonstrated that the FC module presented an overall more significant effectiveness over traditional LBL approach for Chinese pharmacy education in improving student academic performance as measured by theoretical test scores (SMD = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.60–1.56, p < 0.00001) and experimental test scores (MD = 6.62, 95% CI: 4.42–8.82, p < 0.00001). Further sub-group analysis revealed that the preferable effectiveness of FC was also evident in both theory-oriented (SMD = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.10–1.45, p < 0.00001) and experiments-oriented courses (MD = 6.52, 95% CI: 3.48–9.56, p < 0.00001) for both undergraduate (SMD = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.31–1.37, p < 0.00001) and 3-year junior-college students (MD = 8.17, 95% CI: 6.44–9.89, p < 0.00001). Additionally, analysis on the questionnaire outcomes revealed that more respondents preferred for FC and endorsed its improvement effects on developing students’ learning enthusiasm, self-learning ability, thinking skills, communication skills, and learning efficiency.

Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that FC pedagogical approach can effectively improve student learning outcomes and is applicable to Chinese pharmacy education.

Relationship Between Teachers' Teaching Modes and Students' Temperament and Learning Motivation in Confucian Culture During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the traditional didactic teaching method that is practiced in Confucian culture, an Eastern cultural model, is being challenged by multiple alternative teaching modes. In Western cultures, the teaching behavior of teachers is dependent on their ability to influence the temperament of students; in contrast, teachers in Eastern cultures are influenced by changes in external environment (i.e., social policy). This phenomenon can mainly be explained by the tendency of students in Eastern cultures to adopt a passive learning style because of Confucianism. On the basis of Confucian culture and literature review, we conducted a Chinese-language questionnaire survey of temperament scales and learning motivation, and 724 effective questionnaires were collected and used to explore the relationship between students' temperament and learning motivation under three teaching modes, namely, online teaching, traditional offline classroom teaching, and online-offline mixed teaching. Conclusions drawn were as follows. (1) In a Chinese Confucian cultural system, the passive learning style of students and its relationship with the surrounding collective culture creates the temperament characteristics of sanguinity and phlegmatism. (2) Influenced by the traditional Confucian values of benevolence and honesty, students with a melancholic temperament do not focus on their learning motivations. Furthermore, changes in external information, to which such students are sensitive, cause them to give up opportunities easily. (3) Similarly, students with a choleric temperament are sensitive and prone to fluctuating emotions, and they tend to be affected by changes in their external environment. (4) Although students have a strong learning motivation under the traditional offline teaching mode, a paradox in individual cognition exists because of differences between Chinese and Western cultures. Therefore, students generally prefer the online-offline mixed teaching mode to the traditional single teaching mode. This study explored factors that influence students' learning motivation, namely, individual temperament and educational environment (e.g., teaching modes), and provides a reference for the future development of post epidemic education.