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ABSTRACT: Introduction
Residency didactic conferences transitioned to a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic. This format creates questions about effective educational practices, which depend on learner engagement. In this study we sought to characterize the competitive demands for learner attention during virtual didactics and to pilot methodology for future studies.Methods
This was a prospective, observational, cohort study of attendees at virtual didactics from a single emergency medicine residency, which employed a self-report strategy informed by validated classroom assessments of student engagement. We deployed an online, two-question survey polling across six conference days using random signaled sampling. Participants reported all activities during the preceding five minutes.Results
There were 1303 responses over 40 survey deployments across six nonadjacent days. Respondents were residents (63.4%); faculty (27.5%); fellows (2.3%); students (2%); and others (4.8%). Across all responses, about 85% indicated engagement in the virtual conference within the last five minutes of the polls. The average number of activities engaged in was 2.0 (standard deviation = 1.1). Additional activities included education-related (34.2%), work-related (21.1%), social (18.8%), personal (14.6%), self-care (13.4%), and entertainment (4.4%).Conclusion
Learners engage in a variety of activities during virtual didactics. Engagement appears to fluctuate temporally, which may inform teaching strategies. This information may also provide unique instructor feedback. This pilot study demonstrates methodology for future studies of conference engagement and learning outcomes.
SUBMITTER: Khamees D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8782122 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Khamees Deena D Kropf Charles William CW Tomlinson Sarah S Cranford James A JA Carney Michele M Harvey Carrie C Wolff Meg M Haas Mary R C MRC Hopson Laura R LR
The western journal of emergency medicine 20220103 1
<h4>Introduction</h4>Residency didactic conferences transitioned to a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic. This format creates questions about effective educational practices, which depend on learner engagement. In this study we sought to characterize the competitive demands for learner attention during virtual didactics and to pilot methodology for future studies.<h4>Methods</h4>This was a prospective, observational, cohort study of attendees at virtual didactics from a single emergency ...[more]