Cross-disciplinary perspectives on the transition to remote education

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the cancellation of clinical attachments and face-to-face teaching at medical schools across the world. Experiential learning—through simulation or direct patient contact—is essential for the development of clinical skills and procedural knowledge. Adapting this type of teaching for remote delivery is a major challenge for undergraduate medical education. It is also an opportunity for innovation in technology enhanced learning and prompts educators to embrace new ways of thinking. In this article, the authors explored how educators from different disciplines (medicine, music and performing arts) are using technology to enhance practical skills-based learning remotely.The authors, five experienced educators from different fields (surgery, medicine, music and magic), jointly documented the transition to technology enhanced remote teaching through a series of five structured conversations. Drawing from literature on distance learning in medicine and professional experience in education, the authors identified seven practice-enhancing recommendations for optimising teaching of procedural knowledge and skills. These are: (1) make a virtue out of necessity; (2) actively manage your environment; (3) make expectations clear; (4) embrace purposeful communication; (5) use digital resources; (6) be prepared for things to go wrong and (7) personalise the approach. The authors argue that widening the discourse in technology enhanced learning to include cross-disciplinary perspectives adds richness and depth to discussions. This article demonstrates a cross-disciplinary approach to addressing challenges in technology-enhanced medical education.

Undergraduate Learning in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

“…Five experienced educators, from the fields of medicine, music, and magic, highlighted four major challenges including difficulty in discerning a learner’s needs, lack of privacy for learners, failure to physically correct students’ learning errors, and reduced spontaneity in students’ learning environment. 16 …”

“…15 There is a need to foster strong authentic collaborations between the disciplines that teach procedural knowledge. 16 We need to tackle the effect of the pandemic on the acquisition of procedural knowledge (application of what you know) as this is harder to obtain than declarative knowledge (what one knows).…”

“…5,6,22,23 Five experienced educators, from the fields of medicine, music, and magic, highlighted four major challenges including difficulty in discerning a learner's needs, lack of privacy for learners, failure to physically correct students' learning errors, and reduced spontaneity in students' learning environment. 16 Naujoks et al found that students experienced challenges with time management, seeking academic help, and lacking structure in their learning environment.…”

Regaining creativity in science: insights from conversation

“…Science that is done for society must be intrinsically connected to that society, highlighting the importance of co-creation and co-ownership. A growing body of science is co-produced by scientists working together with so-called ‘lay authors’ by incorporating different approaches and ways of seeing [ 70 , 71 ]. Science undertaken in this way (including crowd science) can become more creative, diverse and have more impact [ 72 ].…”

Virtual training in the practical management of emergencies in primary care: making a virtue out of necessity

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted on doctors' education and opportunities for professional development with almost all education now offered on virtual platforms. Houghton et al 1 have outlined how this poses a particular challenge for teaching the practical aspects of medicine compared with theoretical, declarative knowledge. However, in their article they encourage medical educators to embrace these changes and 'make a virtue out of necessity'.…”