Online learning during COVID brought us unexpected challenges but also presented opportunities to innovate and improve engagement with online learning. Our first- and second-year medical students have shown incredible resilience during this year, but the journey has created significant uncertainty, and for some, a variety of factors has resulted in decreased learning motivation, engagement, and enjoyment. With many medical science practicals being converted to online modules for 2020, students told us that they missed being in the laboratory and we felt that they were missing a vital component of experiential learning, and the capability to optimise the achievement of their learning outcomes (Biggs, 2014).
Our team of Phase 1 Medicine EF academics at the Rural Clinical School in Port Macquarie introduced live streamed demonstrations of practical experimental procedures to our rural cohort in teaching period 4 2020, with the aim of increasing students’:
- Engagement with learning of scientific theories
- Understanding of how the online modules relate to what they would have done in the on-campus practical
- Understanding of the connection between theory and scientific practice
- Feeling of immersion in their learning
- Feeling of connectedness with their learning community
While not a complete substitute for undertaking kinaesthetic learning in the laboratory, these sessions increased students’ engagement with the content and helped them to feel more connected to a learning community online. This appears to be due to a number of factors, such as the ability to ask questions as they think through the experimental process, they are able to see equipment in a 3D space rather than as a static or virtual image, and it helps them to feel more connected in general. Effective preparation prior to practical classes is known to increase meaningful learning (Jones & Edwards, 2010) and we believe these classes helped to increase the students’ feeling of self-efficacy in undertaking/understanding the associated online modules or online tasks, which, along with enhanced connectedness, increases their overall sense of wellbeing.
An additional, unanticipated benefit of these sessions was the effect on staff wellbeing; while we have embraced the rapid transition to online learning, we felt a need for our usual involvement in the instructional design and delivery of learning activities for our students, and we missed the opportunity to check in with them during the practical classes. These sessions brought back the fun side of learning for students and staff alike.
Biggs, J. (2014), Constructive Alignment in University Teaching, HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 1; 5-22
Jones, S.M and Edwards, A. (2010) Online Pre-laboratory Exercises Enhance Student Preparedness for First Year Biology Practical Classes, International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 18(2) 1-9