Leading synchronous virtual teaching sessions

Abstract

From educational videos and online learning modules to recorded lectures and flipped classrooms, technology has gained a stronghold within medical education; 1 yet, health professional teaching at all learner levels still relies on in-person didactic sessions that fit into the daily scaffolding of clinical work. These sessions, which include case conferences, chalk talks and journal clubs, are paramount to the learning experience. In the face of social distancing guidelines, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, many health professional schools and training programs have been forced to transition in-person education to an entirely virtual platform. As a result, various multimedia, that previously supplemented in-person didactics, have become pillars of clinical education. 2 In this new virtual era, widely accepted adult education theories and best practices should continue to guide use of multimedia for education.Mayer's work on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning is particularly important to consider as it guides teachers through effective use of multimedia educational platforms, inherent to virtual learning. 3 Mayer highlights the importance of designing multimedia instructional methods with human information processing in mind.Specifically, educators should be attentive to cognitive load to engage in an optimal degree of cognitive processing. Too much information can overwhelm learner cognition and detract from learning. With today's added burden of distance learning, technology requirements and flood of COVID-19 information, virtual-based teaching needs to avoid cognitively overloading learners.Given that virtual didactics are a fairly new phenomenon, the aim of this article is to provide a framework to optimize synchronous, or real-time, virtual teaching in health professional education. Using such a framework will help educators prepare, strategically deliver and assess their teaching sessions. We draw from Mayer's work, our

Management of Auditory Processing Difficulties Virtually: A Case Study

“…For Charlene specifically, test accommodations mean getting to listen to the music she is to transcribe more to allow her additional time to process it. 2,12,14 The accommodations that were recommended initially during the virtual session were very close to what was ultimately decided following the otologist's visit and APD evaluation. The in-person visits and diagnostic testing certainly allowed for more specificity and the ability to proceed with amplification, but most recommendations were able to be provided based on the virtual consultation and through case history completed at that time.…”

“…5 It is reasonable that this only became her chief concern and complaint when tasked with the new and challenging listening environment of collegelevel music classes coupled with a virtual learning model necessitated by the COVID-19 shutdown. 14 A virtual or digital presentation is decidedly different than the typical volume of a lecture as presenters typically project in a way that would be unnatural virtually; so, this is something that students will need to control on their end and faculty may be tasked with providing additional supports given the changing presentation mode of classes. 14,23,24 A variety of treatment options are available to manage a conductive hearing loss and a SNR loss.…”

“…14 A virtual or digital presentation is decidedly different than the typical volume of a lecture as presenters typically project in a way that would be unnatural virtually; so, this is something that students will need to control on their end and faculty may be tasked with providing additional supports given the changing presentation mode of classes. 14,23,24 A variety of treatment options are available to manage a conductive hearing loss and a SNR loss. With any APD patient, effective treatment needs to be individualized to their specific listening needs and deficits.…”

“…They may also benefit from a note taker which in a virtual learning environment is analogous to captioning and recording virtual classes. 4,6,14 Both typical and virtual classroom environments are challenging listening situations for those with hearing loss and APD, but appropriate management strategies can ease this burden and allow for educational success.…”

What, When, and Who: Optimizing Recruitment to Pediatric Pulmonology

“…Faculty who practice at remote sites, or those who have not previously attended resident conferences, should be encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. Novel methods for virtual education are being introduced ( 3 , 4 ), and pulmonary faculty should consider contributing to the rapid innovation in resident education. In addition, faculty may consider creative methods to include remote learners in patient care opportunities ( 5 ).…”