Massive Open Online Courses Combined with Flipped Classroom: An Approach to Promote Training of Resident Physicians in Rheumatology

Abstract

Background This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in combination with flipped classroom teaching in the standard training of resident physicians (resident physician trainees). Methods A total of 110 resident physician trainees enrolled in 2018, with a major in Internal Medicine, were selected and divided into a control group (n = 55) who experienced traditional teaching methods and an experimental group (n = 55) who experienced MOOCs plus flipped classroom teaching. Their post-class test scores and satisfaction questionnaires were compared. Results The test scores (80.60 ± 7.65) of resident physician trainees in the experimental group were higher than those of the control group (77.05 ± 8.08), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The experimental group trainees were highly satisfied with the MOOC + flipped classroom program. Conclusion MOOCs in combination with flipped classroom teaching can increase the effectiveness of teaching in the standard training for resident physicians and trainees’ comprehensive clinical diagnosis and treatment ability.

Learning Design Strategies in MOOCs for Physicians’ Training: A Scoping Review

“…The results mentioned above partially contradict those documented by Wang et al [ 78 ]. These authors evaluated the effectiveness of two teaching methods on trainee physicians’ learning performances.…”

“…Studies included in this area [ 76 , 77 , 78 ] compared the MOOC teaching model and the traditional educational ones.…”

“…In contrast, activities usually constituting homework become classroom activities (e.g., problem-solving and discussion) [ 81 ]. Participants in Wang and colleagues’ [ 78 ] study were placed in two groups: (1) traditional teaching and (2) MOOC plus flipped classroom. The study findings revealed that the physicians’ exam scores in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group.…”

“…The relatively small number of studies reporting their pedagogical foundation is partially counterbalanced by several characteristics that emerged in the analyzed MOOCs, which can be easily traced back to the main assumptions of the aforementioned pedagogical approaches. This reasoning is supported, for example, by the choice made by several authors [ 65 , 67 , 68 , 71 , 74 , 75 , 78 ] to use a range of teaching techniques (e.g., text, video audio, or case studies) in order to consider various participants’ learning modes, as well the different dimensions of learning. Such a strategy follows the focus on experience in the learning process, as highlighted by the above-mentioned pedagogical dimensions [ 90 ].…”

University Student Readiness and Its Effect on Intention to Participate in the Flipped Classroom Setting of Hybrid Learning

“…When MOOCs included the flipped classroom method, those videos were used in the pre-class activity. There were interactions among students and interaction between learners and teachers [36].…”