[Digital teaching 2020: students assess attention during an online lecture as equivalent to a face-to-face lecture]

[Virtual training of practical competences in sonography]

OBJECTIVE

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a particular challenge in the transition to digital teaching was to teach practical skills such as sonography of the head and neck online. The aim of this study was to validate the digital sonography course for medical students established at the Freiburg University Hospital ENT Department.

METHODS

Participants were 178 students of human medicine. The study group simulated the sonography examination at home with a dummy transducer using the Peyton method under the guidance of a tutor via video seminar. In a subsequent learning success check, the results of the students in the online course were compared with those of the control group, who learned sonography in the classroom.

RESULTS

Students of the online course achieved comparable results to the classroom group.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that practical skills which require extensive equipment such as a sonography machine can be taught to a certain extent digitally or at least in a hybrid form.

Digital flashcards and medical physiology performance: a dose-dependent effect

Use of digital flashcards promotes active recall, spaced repetition, and self-assessment academic principles. This work explores the association and dose-dependent effect of this study method and locomotor (LP) and cardiovascular physiology (CP) grades. A single-faculty cohort study of medical LP and CP students was conducted, and 155 and 676 flashcards, respectively, were created through Moodle. An exploratory analysis examined three exam results (2019), and a confirmatory study used a fourth exam (2021) in another CP cohort. Of 685 students enrolled, 558 participated in the exploratory analysis: 319 (69%) for LP and 311 (84%) for CP, of which 203 LP and 267 CP students were flashcard users. Median grades were higher among flashcard users, and the number of cards reviewed was positively correlated with grades (r = 0.275 to 0.388 for LP and r = 0.239 to 0.432 for CP, P < 0.001). Multiple linear regression models confirmed a positive dose-dependent association between results and the number of flashcards studied: for every 100 LP cards reviewed, exam grades increased 0.44-0.75 on a 0-20 scale range (P < 0.001), and for every 1,000 CP flashcards, results raised 0.81-1.08 values (P < 0.05). These findings were confirmed in the 2021 CP cohort of 269 participants, of whom 67% were flashcard users. Digital flashcard revision has a consistent positive dose-dependent association on LP and CP grades.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Implementing flashcard-based strategies is a feasible way to promote active recall, spaced repetition, and self-assessment, and students are highly adherent to these initiatives. There is a positive dose-dependent association between the number of flashcards reviewed and physiology grades. These results are consistent across different physiology subjects, under different cohorts, over short and medium terms.

'Hold the course(s)!' - a qualitative interview study of the impact of pandemic-triggered contact restrictions on online instruction in community-based family medicine teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic has been identified as a catalyst for the digitalization of medical education. Less is known about the specific impact of the pandemic on decentralized, community-based education, such as in General Practitioner practices. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of the digital transformation process, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. As, family medicine courses involve both university-based and community-based teaching, this study focuses the mode and quality of instruction and instructors in family medicine teaching. A qualitative interview study was conducted. The participants (N = 12) of a multi-perspective Quality Circle in family medicine teaching were interviewed twice: first, in 2019, about digitalization in family medicine teaching in Tübingen, Germany, not yet aware of the global changes and local transformation that would take place shortly thereafter. Second, in a follow-up interview in 2020 about the transition process and digitalization following the impact of contact restrictions during the pandemic. Grounded Theory was used as a qualitative research approach to analyze the complex processes surrounding this transformation. By analyzing the interviews with various stakeholders of community and university-based teaching, a model for the digital transformation process of family medicine teaching at the University of Tübingen in response to an external stimulus (the pandemic) was developed. It involves six chronological steps: "The calm before the storm," "The storm hits," "All hands on deck," "Adrift," "Reset course," and "The silver lining." This model seeks to understand the process of digital transformation and its impact on the teaching institution (medical faculty of the University of Tübingen, Institute for General Practice and Interprofessional Health Care) and instructors from an integrated perspective and thereby critically revisits prior concepts and opinions on the digitalization of medical teaching. Insights gained are presented as key messages.

[Digital teaching 2020: Online teaching receives a better assessment than face-to-face teaching]

BACKGROUND

Due to the corona pandemic, face-to-face teaching was no longer permitted in the summer semester 2020 and online alternatives were quickly found.

OBJECTIVE

In our article, we illustrate the switch from face-to-face to online teaching in ophthalmology at the University of Lübeck and compare online teaching with face-to-face teaching.

METHODS

The central teaching evaluation takes place every semester with a standardized questionnaire. Based on the evaluation of these questions, a direct comparison of the attendance semester of the winter semester 2019/2020 with the online semester of the summer semester 2020 was carried out.

RESULTS

The structure (p = 0.003), the organization (p = 0.001), the resources made available (p = 0.034), the attendance of the lectures (p < 0.001) and further dates (p = 0.041), the increase in interest (p = 0.039) and learning (p = 0.001) were rated better in the online semester than in the face-to-face semester. Overall, the digital summer semester 2020 (p < 0.01) received a significantly better overall grade than the face-to-face semester in winter 2019/2020.

CONCLUSION

The structure of our courses has also been proven online. The theoretical content could be excellently mediated; however, practical exercises are not possible online. For the learning of practical skills, face-to-face instruction is still necessary.

[Teaching otorhinolaryngology in times of COVID-19: to what extent can digital formats replace face-to-face teaching?]

OBJECTIVE

Due to the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, postgraduate training in otorhinolaryngology in 2020 was transferred completely from face-to-face to digital teaching. This paper assesses whether this change was possible without a reduction in the quality of teaching and learning.

METHODS

Results of final written examinations were compared for the years 2016-2020, and the results of the teaching evaluation by the students for 2017-2020. The evaluation by students in 2020 included additional questions related to the switch from face-to-face to digital teaching. Additionally, the lecturers and teachers were asked for their assessments.

RESULTS

Results of the final written examination did not show any significant differences between 2016-2019 and 2020. Students were highly satisfied with the digital format, but values did not reach the level of former years with face-to-face-teaching. Especially the interaction with patients and the teaching of manual skills were rated lower in the digital format. Lecturers emphasized the additional workload for preparation of digital teaching.

CONCLUSION

The results of written examinations showed no difference between digital and face-to-face teaching. Online communication and interaction were reduced and regarded as cumbersome by students and faculty. Digital solutions providing more interaction and active participation are required. The digital format is more appropriate for teaching basic knowledge than for teaching practical skills.

[German national survey of lecturers in ophthalmology on student teaching in the 2020/21 corona pandemic]

Hintergrund

Die Corona-Pandemie hat einen erheblichen Einfluss auf die Bedingungen der universitären studentischen Lehre. Durch die pandemiebedingten Kontaktbeschränkungen kamen vielerorts digitale Lehrformate anstatt der bisherigen Präsenzlehre zum Einsatz. Diese wurde im Sommersemester 2020 durch die Studierenden in bisher vorliegenden Veröffentlichungen teils schon gut angenommen und positiv evaluiert. In dieser Arbeit wurde das Hauptaugenmerk auf die Erfahrungen und Einschätzungen der Lehrenden in der Augenheilkunde während des Wintersemesters 2020/21 gelegt.

Methodik

Anhand zweier anonymisierter Befragungen mittels Online-Fragebögen wurden zum einen die Lehrbeauftragten der Augenheilkunde der deutschen Universitätskliniken sowie zum anderen interne und externe Dozierende und Mitarbeitende in der studentischen Lehre der Augenklinik der Universitätsmedizin Mainz zu ihren Erfahrungen mit der Implementierung der digitalen Lehre befragt.

Ergebnisse

Hierbei gaben 95 % der Lehrbeauftragten der Augenkliniken der Universitätskliniken in Deutschland an, spätestens seit der Corona-Pandemie digitale Lehrkonzepte etabliert zu haben. Bei 68 % kamen Hybridformate mit anteiliger Präsenzlehre zum Einsatz. Es wurden vielfältige Lehrformate angewendet. Hierbei traten auch Schwierigkeiten, insbesondere in der Interaktion mit den Studierenden sowie durch unzureichende technische Ausstattung der Kliniken, auf. Trotz überwiegend digitaler Lehre wurden weiterhin erprobte Prüfungskonzepte in Präsenzform angewendet, nur 18 % der Befragten gaben an, Online-Prüfungen durchgeführt zu haben. Künftig wollen 86 % der Befragten digitale Formate in ihre Lehrkonzepte integrieren und als Ergänzung der bisherigen Präsenzlehre etablieren.

Diskussion

Die Entwicklung der studentischen Lehre während der Corona-Pandemie kann als Chance für die Gestaltung der zukünftigen Ausbildung von Medizinstudierenden in der Augenheilkunde dienen.