Configurations of collaborations based on learning orientations amongst medical students

Social Network Analysis in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Education: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

Social network analysis (SNA) is a theoretical framework and analytical approach used to study relationships among individuals and groups. While SNA has been employed by many disciplines to understand social structures and dynamics of interpersonal relationships, little is known about its use in medical education. Mapping and synthesizing the scope of SNA in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education can inform educational practice and research.

METHOD

This scoping review was based on searches conducted in Medline, Embase, Scopus, and ERIC in December 2020 and updated in March 2022. After removal of duplicates, the search strategy yielded 5,284 records, of which 153 met initial inclusion criteria. Team members conducted full-text reviews, extracted relevant data, and conducted descriptive and thematic analyses to determine how SNA has been used as a theoretical and analytical approach in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

RESULTS

Thirty studies, from 11 countries, were retained. Most studies focused on undergraduate medical students, primarily in online environments, and explored students' friendships, information sharing, and advice seeking through SNA. Few studies included residents and attending staff. Findings suggested that SNA can be a helpful tool for monitoring students' interactions in online courses and clinical clerkships. SNA can also be used to examine the impact of social networks on achievement, the influence of social support and informal learning outside the classroom, and the role of homophily in learning. In clinical settings, SNA can help explore team dynamics and knowledge exchange among medical trainees.

CONCLUSIONS

While SNA has been underutilized in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, findings indicate that SNA can help uncover the structure and impact of social networks in the classroom and the clinical setting. SNA can also be used to help design educational experiences, monitor learning, and evaluate pedagogical interventions. Future directions for SNA research in medical education are described.

Relationship between medical students' perceived instructor role and their approaches to using online learning technologies in a cloud-based virtual classroom

BACKGROUND

Students can take different approaches to using online learning technologies: deep and surface. It is important to understand the relationship between instructor role and student approaches to using online learning technologies in online learning settings supported by cloud computing techniques.

METHODS

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze the relationships between medical students' perceptions of instructor role (instructor support, instructor-student interaction, and instructor innovation) and students' approaches to using online learning technologies in cloud-based virtual classrooms. A 25-item online questionnaire along with a sheet with basic demographic was administered to all medical students at Qilu Medical Schools of Shandong University China. Overall, 213 of 4000 medical students (5.34%) at the medical school participated in the survey.

RESULTS

The results showed high levels of medical students' perceived instructor support, instructor-student interaction and instructor innovation. Most students adopted the deep approaches to using online learning technologies. Instructor support, instructor-student interaction and innovation were positively related to students' deep approaches to using online learning technologies. Instructor support was negatively related to students' surface approaches to using online learning technologies.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between instructor role (instructor support, instructor-student interaction and instructor innovation) and students' approaches to using online learning technologies highlight the importance of instructor support and innovation in facilitating students' adoption of desirable approaches to learning from the application of technologies.