Comparing Two Resources Used to Teach Pulmonary Patterns for a Flipped Veterinary Radiology Course

Flipped Classroom to Facilitate Deeper Learning in Veterinary Undergraduate Students: An Educational Change Pilot Study Limited to the Imaging Module Bones

In a flipped classroom, learners study at home and do the 'homework' in class. This approach respects the limitations of memory and allows more interaction between learners. The overall vision is self-paced activities for learners with decreased boredom and greater task value, which should facilitate deeper learning. To implement a flipped classroom, a bumpy incremental change process characterized by periods of relative stillness punctuated by the acceleration of pace was planned. All veterinary undergraduate students used an existing eLearning platform to access relevant text and selected image examples before class. Only for the randomly selected students in the flipped classroom (FC) was this content amended with purposeful audio content and concrete tasks. Further, FC learners discussed their opinions in an online class forum. To measure the educational change, a pre- and post-class formative test and a standardized questionnaire for students in the FC versus in the traditional classroom (TC) were performed. To assess engagement, students were invited to measure all learning activities, categorized into attendance, or self-study. The educational change project resulted in more commitment and less resistance from teachers. The FC consisted of 20 students, while the TC had 40. The mean pre-class scores difference between FC students and TC students was +1.7/20 points, and the mean post-class scores difference was +3/20 points. The chance of answering item 10 of the formative test (describe site of the fracture) correctly was about seven times higher for FC compared to TC learners (OR = 6.96; p = 0.002). The questionnaire revealed more satisfaction and greater task value in the FC compared to TC (p = 0.048). FC students invested 21 h into the course on average, while TC students invested 16 h. The results of this pilot agree with previous reports: A transparent process was helpful to initiate mainly positive interactions between teachers and students. Higher scores, higher chance to give the correct answer, greater task value, and more positive emotions are observed in the FC compared to the TC. Higher measures of learning time are not expected to affect exam results but indicate more engagement.

Enhancing the effectiveness of flipped classroom in health science education: a state-of-the-art review

BACKGROUND

In a flipped classroom, students acquire knowledge before class and deepen and apply this knowledge during class. This way, lower-order learning goals are achieved before class and higher-order skills are reached during class. This study aims to provide an overview of the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the flipped classroom and how these factors can be stimulated. The effectiveness of the flipped classroom is conceptualized in this study as test scores, the achievement of higher learning goals, and student perceptions.

METHODS

A state-of-the-art review was conducted. The databases MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were consulted. The timeframe is 2016 till 2020. The studies were qualitatively analyzed according to the grounded theory method.

RESULTS

After screening the studies based on the inclusion-and exclusion criteria, 88 studies were included in this review. The qualitative analysis of these studies revealed six main factors that affect the effectiveness of the flipped classroom: student characteristics, teacher characteristics, implementation, task characteristics, out-of-class activities, and in-class activities. Mediating factors are, amongst other factors, the learner's level of self-regulated learning, teacher's role and motivation, assessment approach, and guidance during self-study by means of prompts or feedback. These factors can be positively stimulated by structuring the learning process and focusing the teacher training on competencies and learning-and teaching approaches that are essential for the flipped classroom.

CONCLUSION

This paper provides insight into the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the flipped classroom and how these factors could be stimulated. In order to stimulate the effectiveness of the flipped classroom, the positively and negatively affecting factors and mediating factors should be taken into account in the design of the flipped classroom. The interventions mentioned in this paper could also be used to enhance the effectiveness.

Case-based intensive veterinary radiology clerkship improves students' radiographic interpretation skills and overall course satisfaction scores

The variability in diagnostic imaging caseload, increasing class sizes, high hospital workloads, and the progressive departure of veterinary radiologists from academia can lead to inconsistent and reduced teaching opportunities. This one group pretest, posttest study aimed to compare the learning outcomes of students enrolled in two veterinary radiology clerkship models. Our hypothesis was that the learning and satisfaction scores of students in a case-based veterinary radiology clerkship would be higher than those in a clinical veterinary radiology clerkship. During the spring and summer semesters of 2019, students were assigned to a clinical (CRC) or case-based (CBRC) radiology clerkship model, respectively. Prior to starting the clerkship and at the conclusion thereof, all students took identical radiographic interpretation quizzes. Four major areas of learning were assessed: knowledge base (KB), diagnostic test interpretation (DTI), problem prioritization and differential diagnosis (PPDDX), and critical thinking (CrT). A total of 41 of 48 (CRC) and 130 of 151 (CBRC) students enrolled in this study; 15 and 34, respectively, were off-shore students, while the remainder were in-house students. In-house students improved their scores with CRC and CBRC, but achieved better scores in the four areas with CBRC. Off-shore students only improved their scores with CBRC. In both groups, there was a negative effect of CRC on DTI. Course satisfaction score was 3.21 on CRC and 4.38 on CBRC (range 1-5). An intensive, case-based, discussion-focused veterinary radiology clerkship can improve students' radiographic interpretation skills and overall course satisfaction scores.