Improving paramedic distance education through mobile mixed reality simulation

Abstract

There is growing evidence that the use of simulation in teaching is a key means of improving learning, skills, and outcomes, particularly for practical skills. In the health sciences, the use of high-fidelity task trainers has been shown to be ideal for reducing cognitive load and leading to enhanced learning outcomes. However, how do we make these task trainers available to students studying at a distance? To answer this question, this paper presents results from the implementation and sustained testing of a mobile mixed reality intervention in an Australian distance paramedic science classroom. The context of this mobile mixed reality simulation study, provided through a user-supplied mobile phone incorporating 3D printing, virtual reality, and augmented reality, is skills acquisition in airways management, focusing on direct laryngoscopy with foreign body removal. The intervention aims to assist distance education learners in practising skills prior to attending mandatory residential schools, building a baseline equality between those students who study face to face and those at a distance. Outcomes from the study showed statistically significant improvements in the use of the simulation across several key performance indicators in the distance learners, but also demonstrated problems to overcome in the pedagogical method.

Pedagogy before Technology: A Design-Based Research Approach to Enhancing Skills Development in Paramedic Science Using Mixed Reality

“…Performances on all tasks were combined and assessed collectively, with each participant receiving a score ranging from 0 (failed all four key performance indicators) to 4 (passed all four key performance indicators). This data is reported on in [11,12], with a statistically significant difference in performance noted in [12].…”

“…Results of the first loop were presented in [11], with follow-up data from the second loop presented in [12]. Over the two loops, there was a total pool of 159 students, of which 137 students participated.…”

“…The result was that mixed reality could be used to assist with skills development for students studying paramedic science at a distance. Results of the student response to this work are available in [11,12] and show a statistically significant improvement for students that trained with the simulation prior to coming to the residential school.…”

“…Please note that much of this simulation design has been reported in previous papers [11,12], so this section in this paper will focus more on the differences between the two loops of the DBR process and how they were informed by user feedback and the hybrid DBR and pedagogy before technology model.…”

“…The AR markers used on the original pilot simulation [11] were six-sided, 3 cm cubes, which allowed the tools to be tracked from any orientation as long as one of the sides was visible to the device's camera. However, as the experiment evolved, these markers were changed to flat, 6 cm square markers [12], which improved tracking and allowed a label for each tool to be added to the marker. This type of tracking utilised Vuforia's Image Target marker (www.vuforia.com), situated in Unity (www.unity3d.com).…”