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Objective: There are currently no practising psychiatrists in Somaliland. In 2007 the first medical students graduated from universities in Somaliland without mental health training. We aimed to pilot an intensive but flexible package of mental health training to all senior medical students and interns using interactive training techniques and to evaluate its effectiveness by assessing knowledge, skills and attitudes. Methods: Teaching techniques included didactic lectures, case based discussion groups and role playing. Informal feedback informed a flexible teaching package. Assessment tools designed specifically for this course included a pre and post course MCQ exam and an OSCE. Changes in students' attitudes were evaluated using a questionnaire administered before and after the course. In addition, a questionnaire administered following the course evaluated the changes students perceived in their knowledge and attitudes to mental health. Results: The MCQ improved from 50.7% pre course to 64.4% post course (p=9.73 E-08). Students achieved an average overall OSCE mark of 71%. The pre and post attitudes questionnaire was most significantly different for statements relevant to aetiology, stigma and the overlap between mental and physical health. The statement most strongly agreed with after the course was 'I now understand more about the overlap between mental and physical health'. Conclusion: Interactive teaching provided a learning experience for both students and trainers. On site and distance learning based on the teaching described here has widened the scope of the training possible in psychiatry and allowed the provision of regular teaching, supervision and peer support in Somaliland. However, the current lack of local expertise means that important issues of sustainability need to be considered in future work

Many postgraduate students face difficulties in learning the educational statistics topics because of their mathematical nature. Adopting innovative learning technologies has opened up a wide range of options to extend the learning strategies in higher education and support students` learning outcomes. The current study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a blended learning BL approach with 18 Master’s Degree students enrolled in two postgraduate courses in statistics i.e. (introduction to educational statistics and quantitative research data analysis courses) taught at the Arabian Gulf University Distance Teaching & Training Master Program in Bahrain. The courses were enrolled as Blended Learning with the College of Graduate Studies-CGS Moodle Learning Management System during the second semester of the academic year 20182019/. The students were assessed using online quizzes, 2 written tests, two assignments: one in descriptive and the other in inferential statistics, one open book exam and a final examination. Data analysis revealed that the blended learning approach helped the students to learn the course content i.e. (students` grades ranged from B+ to A). The learning satisfaction survey administered at the end of the course revealed a high degree of satisfaction with the course material and the teaching approach used. In conclusion, blended learning is viewed as feasible for teaching statistics courses and is beneficial to both students and instructors.

Problem Based Learning PBL is an educational approach that requires the students› interaction with each other to clarify their educational needs, share information for solving the problem under investigation and make use of various educational resources available online such as electronic books, scientific research papers, and Internet resources, and then access the collected information to reach a solution to this problem of education. This study aimed to determine the possibility of using electronic communication tools for the [Problem Based Learning] from resource persons’ point of views at College of Medicine & Medical Science; Arabian Gulf University. The study implemented a qualitative research method based on focus group techniques on a sample of 24 resource persons who work for the Arabian Gulf University. The most essential results that came out of the qualitative analysis were that there were many difficulties facing, the use of communication tools in the virtual learning environment WebCT. The time restrictions of the student, lack of using WebCT tools, lack of support for students to use the same tools by resource persons and tutors. The resource persons focused on the point that the students do not require skills to use WebCT, and there is a need to make the environment of using WebCT in line with the external environments which students refer to during their learning. Also, they focused on the importance of participation of students with college management to design the WebCT from the beginning and to instruct the students toward using the same environment, as the same shall be implemented on premedical and not after the start of using PBL. Recommendations included; the need to train the tutors and resource persons on using WebCT and help them master the skills needed for using WebCT in their teaching and interacting with their students.