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Use of learning media by undergraduate medical students in pharmacology: a prospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT: The ubiquity of the internet and computer-based technologies has an increasing impact on higher education and the way students access information for learning. Moreover, there is a paucity of information about the quantitative and qualitative use of learning media by the current student generation. In this study we systematically analyzed the use of digital and non-digital learning resources by undergraduate medical students. Daily online surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a cohort of 338 third year medical students enrolled in a general pharmacology course. Our data demonstrate a predominant use of digital over non-digital learning resources (69 ± 7% vs. 31 ± 7%; p < 0.01) by students. Most used media for learning were lecture slides (26.8 ± 3.0%), apps (22.0 ± 3.7%) and personal notes (15.5 ± 2.7%), followed by textbooks (> 300 pages) (10.6 ± 3.3%), internet search (7.9 ± 1.6%) and e-learning cases (7.6 ± 3.0%). When comparing learning media use of teaching vs. pre-exam self-study periods, textbooks were used significantly less during self-study (-55%; p < 0.01), while exam questions (+334%; p < 0.01) and e-learning cases (+176%; p < 0.01) were utilized more. Taken together, our study revealed a high prevalence and acceptance of digital learning resources by undergraduate medical students, in particular mobile applications.

SUBMITTER: Gutmann J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4388621 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Use of learning media by undergraduate medical students in pharmacology: a prospective cohort study.

Gutmann Joanna J Kühbeck Felizian F Berberat Pascal O PO Fischer Martin R MR Engelhardt Stefan S Sarikas Antonio A

PloS one 20150407 4

The ubiquity of the internet and computer-based technologies has an increasing impact on higher education and the way students access information for learning. Moreover, there is a paucity of information about the quantitative and qualitative use of learning media by the current student generation. In this study we systematically analyzed the use of digital and non-digital learning resources by undergraduate medical students. Daily online surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted wit ...[more]

PMID: 25849565

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Project description:BackgroundStandardized doctor's orders are replacing traditional order writing in teaching hospitals. The impact of this shift in practice on medical education is unknown. It is possible that preprinted orders interfere with knowledge acquisition and retention by not requiring active decision-making. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of standardized admission orders on disease-specific knowledge among undergraduate medical trainees.MethodsThis prospective cohort study enrolled Year 3 (n = 121) and Year 4 (n = 54) medical students at two academic hospitals in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) during their general internal medicine rotation. We used standardized orders for patient admissions for alcohol withdrawal (AW) and for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) as the intervention and manual order writing as the control. Educational outcomes were assessed through end-of-rotation questionnaires assessing disease-specific knowledge of AW and AECOPD.Results and discussionsOf 175 students, 105 had exposure to patients with alcohol withdrawal during their rotation, and 68 students wrote admission orders. Among these 68 students, 48 used standardized orders (intervention, n = 48) and 20 used manual order writing (control, n = 20). Only 3 students used standardized orders for AECOPD, precluding analysis. There was no significant difference found in mean total score of questionnaires between those who used AW standardized orders and those who did not (11.8 vs. 11.0, p = 0.4). Students who had direct clinical experience had significantly higher mean total scores (11.6 vs. 9.0, p < 0.0001 for AW; 13.8 vs. 12.6, p = 0.02 for AECOPD) compared to students who did not. When corrected for overall knowledge, this difference only persisted for AW.ConclusionsNo significant differences were found in total scores between students who used standardized admission orders and traditional manual order writing. Clinical exposure was associated with increase in disease-specific knowledge.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Learning analytics aims to improve learning outcomes through the systematic measurement and analysis of learning-related data. However, which parameters have the highest predictive power for academic performance remains to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation of different online assessment parameters with summative exam performance in undergraduate medical education of pharmacology. METHODS:A prospective study was conducted with a cohort of undergraduate medical students enrolled in a pharmacology course at Technical University of Munich, Germany. After a four-week teaching and learning period, students were given access to an online assessment platform consisting of 440 multiple choice (MC) questions. After 12?days, a final written summative exam was performed. Bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed for different online assessment parameters as predictors and summative exam performance as dependent variable. Self-perceived pharmacology competence was measured by questionnaires pre- and postintervention. RESULTS:A total of 224 out of 393 (57%) students participated in the study and were included in the analysis. There was no significant correlation for the parameters "number of logins" (r =?0.01, p =?0.893), "number of MC-questions answered" (r =?0.02, p =?0.813) and "time spent on the assessment platform" (r =?-?0.05, p =?0.459) with exam performance. The variable "time per question" was statistically significant (p =?0.006), but correlated negatively (r =?-?0.18) with academic performance of study participants. Only "total score" (r =?0.71, p <?0.001) and the "score of first attempt" (r =?0.72, p <?0.001) were significantly correlated with final grades. In a multiple regression analysis, "score first attempt" accounted for 52% of the variation of "score final exam", and "time per question" and "total score" for additional 5 and 1.4%, respectively. No gender-specific differences were observed. Finally, online assessments resulted in improved self-perceived pharmacology competence of students. CONCLUSION:In this prospective cohort study, we systematically assessed the correlation of different online assessments parameters with exam performance and their gender-neutrality. Our findings may help to improve predictive models of academic performance in undergraduate medical education of pharmacology.

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Dataset Information

Use of learning media by undergraduate medical students in pharmacology: a prospective cohort study.

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Use of learning media by undergraduate medical students in pharmacology: a prospective cohort study.

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