Pandemic-Driven Online Teaching-The Natural Setting for a Flipped Classroom?

Teaching diagnostic radiology to radiology majors: Implementation and evaluation of a flipped classroom model

PURPOSE

Radiology instruction focuses on cultivating medical students' diagnostic thinking skills and practical competence, and lecture-based learning (LBL) is the most commonly used teaching approach. While fact-based, this type of traditional instruction is often non-engaging, leading to a shift toward student-centered models, one of which is the flipped classroom (FC). However, studies involving a comprehensive evaluation of students' experiences using the FC approach and its effects on their learning are lacking. Therefore, this study analyzed the teaching efficacy of the FC approach based on data of large groups of radiology students, accumulated over time.

METHODS

Data from 636 medical radiology students taught using the FC and LBL models from 2012 to 2021 were retrospectively collected and analyzed.

RESULTS

The test scores of the FC group were significantly higher than those of the LBL group, and improvements in learning initiative and learning ability were notably higher in the FC than in the LBL group. The two groups showed no significant difference in the critical thinking disposition indicator, and the proportion of students with positive critical thinking tendencies was higher in the FC than in the LBL group. The academic and social self-perception scores of the FC group were significantly higher than those of the LBL group, and there was a significant difference in Kolb's learning style.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on evidence of completing pre-, in-, and after-class work, the FC approach improved students' academic performance, learning initiative, diagnostic ability, and satisfaction with learning and the teaching institution. Our findings suggest that FC instruction promotes students' assimilation and convergence of learning styles, and cultivates positive critical thinking.

The BIORES-21 Survey: Insights Into Remote and Online Education in Biomechanics and Mechanobiology

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated mainstream adoption of online and remote learning approaches, which were highly advantageous yet challenging in many ways. The online modality, while teaching biomedical engineering-related topics in the areas of biomechanics, mechanobiology, and biomedical sciences, further added to the complexity faced by the faculty and students. Both the benefits and the challenges have not been explored systematically by juxtaposing experiences and reflections of both the faculty and students. Motivated by this need, we designed and conducted a systematic survey named BIORES-21, targeted toward the broader bio-engineering community. Survey responses and our inferences from survey findings cumulatively offer insight into the role of employed teaching/learning technology and challenges associated with student engagement. Survey data also provided insights on what worked and what did not, potential avenues to address some underlying challenges, and key beneficial aspects such as integration of technology and their role in improving remote teaching/learning experiences. Overall, the data presented summarize the key benefits and challenges of online learning that emerged from the experiences during the pandemic, which is valuable for the continuation of online learning techniques as in-person education operations resumed broadly across institutions, and some form of online learning seems likely to sustain and grow in the near future.

Use of the Community of Inquiry Framework to Measure Student and Facilitator Perceptions of Online Flipped Classroom Compared with Online Lecture Learning in Undergraduate Medical Education

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic and a movement away from traditional lecture-based learning have increased the use of online flipped classroom (FC) and active learning models in medical education. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework for online learning may be used to evaluate the effectiveness and strengths of the online FC model compared with other learning formats.

Methods

An observational survey study was conducted to measure medical student and facilitator perceptions of an online FC endocrinology tutorial compared with online lecture experiences. For the tutorial, students were instructed to watch short, pre-recorded lecture videos on thyroid pathophysiology prior to class. During class, small groups of students were paired with a faculty facilitator in online Zoom rooms for case discussion. Students were surveyed using the CoI framework to assess elements of cognitive, social, and teaching presence between the two online learning modalities. Facilitators were also surveyed. Survey questions were rated on a 5-point Likert scale.

Results

Fifty-three out of 92 students (58% response rate) and seven out of eight facilitators (88% response rate) completed surveys. In general, students felt that online FC learning improved cognitive, teaching, and social presence compared with online lecture. Areas of cognitive presence (mean score 3.9 ± 1.0 SD), such as stimulating curiosity and applying concepts, were highly rated. Certain elements of social presence (3.6 ± 0.9) and teaching presence (3.7 ± 0.9), such as expression of emotion and communication of expectations, garnered lower ratings. All surveyed facilitators felt that online FC was more effective and enjoyable to teach than online lectures but did not feel it was superior to in-person instruction.

Conclusion

Medical students and facilitators viewed an online FC tutorial in endocrinology positively. Most, but not all, areas of the CoI framework were enhanced with the online FC tutorial compared with online lecture-based learning.

Online Interactive Flipped Classroom Teaching in Pediatrics for Medical Undergraduates

OBJECTIVES

To introduce online flipped classroom teaching for medical undergraduates in Pediatrics and to assess students' engagement and satisfaction with the students and faculty with the flipped classroom teaching method.

METHODS

An interventional education study was conducted on online flipped classrooms for final-year medical undergraduates. The core team of faculty members was identified, students and faculty were sensitized, and pre-reading material and feedback forms were validated. Students were engaged using the Socrative app, and feedback from students and faculty was collected using Google Forms.

RESULTS

One hundred sixty students and six faculty members participated in the study. During the scheduled class, 91.9% of students were engaged. The majority of the students strongly agreed that the flipped classroom was interesting (87.2%) and interactive (87%) and developed an interest in the subject of Pediatrics (86%). Faculty were also motivated to adopt this method.

CONCLUSION

The present study revealed that introducing flipped classroom strategy in an online model improved students' engagement and increased their interest in the subject.

Industrial Processes Online Teaching: A Good Practice for Undergraduate Engineering Students in Times of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic required higher education institutions to change the modality of face-to-face to online learning overnight. Adaptations were needed, particularly in industrial process training in Chemical Engineering and related careers. Students could not access companies and industries for internships or industrial visits, intended to allow undergraduate students to observe the process engineers’ work in professional spaces. This paper describes a pedagogical strategy to overcome this limitation. Here, we report an approach applied in an Industrial Processes course, with students from the 8th to 10th semesters and alumni, from the undergraduate Petrochemical Engineering program at Yachay Tech University (Ecuador). In this course, the students developed group projects involving an industrial process analysis focused on economic sectors of interest in the country. The projects also included a revision of official figures and statistics on production data, consumption, and perspectives of the different markets. The execution of these projects promoted students’ active participation through technical discussions by exchanging ideas. A high level of attendance at synchronic classes reflected a high motivation. Through feedback and interviews, the students’ comments confirmed the relevance and value of the strategy applied in the course.