Twelve tips for developing and delivering a massive open online course in medical education (original) (raw)
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Massive open online courses (MOOCs) for continuing medical education – why and how?
Advances in Medical Education and Practice
Continuing medical education (CME) is meant to not only improve clinicians' knowledge and skills but also lead to better patient care processes and outcomes. The delivery of CME should be able to encourage the health providers to accept new evidencebased practices, and discard or discontinue less effective care. However, continuing use of expensive yet least effective and inappropriate tools and techniques predominates for CME delivery. Hence, the evidence shows a disconnect between evidence-based recommendations and real-world practiceborne out by less than optimal patient outcomes or treatment targets not being met especially in low-to middle-income countries. There is an ethical and professional obligation on CME-providers and decision-makers to safeguard that CME interventions are appraised not only for their quality and effectiveness but also for costeffectiveness. The process of learning needs to be engaging, convenient, user-friendly and of minimal cost, especially where it is most needed. Today's technology permits these characteristics to be integrated, along with further enhancement of the engagement process. We review the literature on the mechanics of CME learning that utilizes today's technology tools and propose a framework for more engaging, efficient and cost-effective approach that implements massive open online courses for CME, adapted for the twenty-first century.
Massive open online courses are relevant for postgraduate medical training
Danish medical journal, 2014
The CanMEDS framework describes seven roles in postgraduate training, but training and courses relevant to these roles can be limited. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) - free online courses in which anyone can participate, anywhere - may improve course participation. This study investigates the relevance of MOOCs for postgraduate medical training within the CanMEDS framework. We extracted a list of all courses posted by the two largest MOOC providers, Coursera and EdX, and reviewed all course descriptions and categorised each course into one of three categories--"relevant," "possibly relevant" or "not relevant"--reflecting the degree of relevance to each of the seven CanMEDS roles. We also noted course workload, duration and the name of the educational institution. We agreed the most on the role of health advocate (Cronbach's α = 0.85) and the least on the role of collaborator (Cronbach's α = 0.46). After a consensus-building process, 165 cou...
Delivering a medical school elective with massive open online course (MOOC) technology
Introduction: The educational technology of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has been successfully applied in a wide variety of disciplines and are an intense focus of educational research at this time. Educators are now looking to MOOC technology as a means to improve professional medical education, but very little is known about how medical MOOCs compare with traditional content delivery. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the course evaluations for the Medicine as a Business elective by fourth-year medical students at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU-SOM) for the 2012-2015 academic years was conducted. This course was delivered by small group flipped classroom discussions for 2012-2014 and delivered via MOOC technology in 2015. Learner ratings were compared between the two course delivery methods using routinely collected course evaluations. Results: Course enrollment has ranged from 6-19 students per year in the 2012-2015 academic years. Student evaluations of the course are favorable in the areas of effective teaching, accurate course objectives, meeting personal learning objectives, recommending the course to other students, and overall when rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The majority of all student ratings (76-95%) of this elective course are for the highest possible choice (Strongly agree or Excellent) for any criteria, regardless if the course was delivered via a traditional or MOOC format. Statistical analysis of these ratings suggests that the Effective Teacher and Overall Evaluations did not statistically differ between the two delivery formats. Discussion: Student ratings of this elective course were highly similar when delivered in a flipped classroom format or by using MOOC technology. The primary advantage of this new course format is flexibility of time and place for learners, allowing them to complete the course objectives when convenient for them. The course evaluations suggest this is a change that is acceptable to the target audience. Conclusions: This study suggests that learner evaluations of a fourth-year medical school elective course do not significantly differ when delivered by flipped classroom group discussions or via MOOC technology in a very small single center observational study. Further investigation is required to determine if this delivery method is an acceptable and effective means of teaching in the medical school environment.
Learning Design Strategies in MOOCs for Physicians’ Training: A Scoping Review
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
In recent years, there has been an increased implementation of massive open online courses (MOOCs). This teaching model plays a pivotal role in online education because it can provide high-quality learning resources to numerous students with great feasibility, shaping training courses according to their different learning requirements. Although the widespread adoption of MOOCs in medical education has led to numerous benefits for undergraduate and graduate doctors, their role remains unclear, suggesting the need to analyze the key factors of such a learning method in this field. To achieve this aim, a scoping review, in line with the PRISMA method for qualitative synthesis, was performed by considering studies published from 2016 to 2021, written in English, and including the physician population. Through this literature analysis, the following main areas of interest came to light: (1) pedagogical approaches, (2) MOOC structure-related variables, (3) participant-related variables, a...
MOOC Learning Assessment in Clinical Settings: Analysis from Quality Dimensions
Medical Science Educator
Online learning is becoming a fundamental modality of learning in medical education, and can be of great help during global crisis like the current COVID-19 pandemic. The MOOC (massive open online course) mode of e-learning is increasing its penetration worldwide, as a valid teaching approach to reach large populations. A major challenge in clinical education is the assessment of medical students and residents in clinical settings, and there is substantial evidence that the current situation requires improvement. The goal of this study was to evaluate the quality dimensions of a MOOC titled "Learning assessment in clinical settings," developed by three Mexican universities in the Coursera platform. A mixed-method study design was used to assess the quality dimensions of the MOOC in two phases: pilot and implementation. The best-rated aspects were learning resources and pedagogical perspective, and those with opportunity for improvement were collaboration and time management. Assessment might be learned through a MOOC format, especially for participants willing to engage with educational technology and self-direction.
Medical Teacher, 2019
Purpose: Medical Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are of interest for campus education. With growing interest in integrating medical MOOCs, their quality must be ensured. This however, has not been studied. We investigated if medical MOOCs meet the instructional design principles: problem-centeredness, activation, demonstration, application, integration, collective knowledge, collaboration, differentiation, authentic resources, feedback, and goal-setting. Methods: An overview of medical MOOCs and inclusion criteria were developed. Out of 410 MOOCs, 33 were selected. A data collection tool was compiled and calibrated. Investigators enrolled in selected MOOCs and coded presence of instructional design principles after examination of all course pages. Results: Application, authentic resources, problem-centeredness, and goal-setting were found to be present in many of the courses. Activation, collective knowledge, differentiation, and demonstration were present in less than half of the courses. Finally, integration, collaboration, and expert feedback were present in less than 15% of the courses. Conclusions: Medical MOOCs meet these principles in varying degree. Certain principles might be scarcely present due to a problematic fit with the MOOC concept or a need for further development in online settings. Assessment of instructional design quality is desired before integrating so that MOOC quality can be considered in relation to the quality of existing campus education.
Designing and Developing a MOOC
Medical Science Educator, 2015
In this paper we provide advice for planning, designing, delivering and leveraging massive open online courses (MOOCs) based on the experience of developing four massive open online courses at the University of Hong Kong. The first three tips relate to decision-making and planning. The next six tips concern designing to create a quality learning experience for students. The final three tips point to the additional value that can be extracted from being involved in massive open online courses. This piece should be useful for teaching and learning leaders, faculty and instructional designers responsible for creating massive open online courses in medical education.
BMC medical education, 2024
Introduction Designing, developing, and implementing a course without assessing and prioritizing instructional needs may result in inefficiency due to the disregard for the actual needs of the target population. The present study aimed to determine and prioritize medical students' instructional needs regarding Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Methods This survey study was carried out in three stages (2020-2021) using the Delphi technique. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to select the instructors. The students were selected through simple random sampling. The first round of the Delphi technique involved a questionnaire consisting of one open-ended question, completed by 49 basic/clinical faculty members and 47 senior medical students. In the second round, a 5-point Likert scale-based questionnaire was used to prioritize the instructional needs. The reliability of the questionnaire was verified by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. In the third round, a focus group was used. A total of six expert faculty members and one senior medical student were invited to the focus group session to prioritize the needs. Data were analyzed using Friedman's non-parametric ranking test in SPSS version 26. Results Ten instructional needs priorities were extracted, including common pharmacotherapies (antibiotics and narcotics), prescriptions, physiology, anatomy, physical examination, electrocardiography interpretation, radiography, computed tomography scans, serum electrolyte disorders, and cardiovascular and internal (endocrine and metabolic) diseases. The chi-squared calculated value (715.584) indicated a significant difference in the importance of the questionnaire's questions (P < 0.001). These questions did not have equal value, and the importance, from the respondent's point of view and the observed distribution of ranks, was not the output of a random factor. Conclusions The findings of this study can be used to design MOOCs, revise instructional programs, and adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of general practitioners, which will, in turn, help meet the medical needs of the general population.