Medical students’ self-directed learning skills during online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic in a Korean medical school

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined medical students’ self-directed learning skills in online learning contexts, and whether there were any differences among the student groups (from pre-medical program year 1 to medical program year 2) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It also explored the components of self-directed learning skills influencing their perceived learnring performance and satisfaction in online learning contexts.Methods: This study used a cross-sectional survey design and convenience sampling. It was conducted in a Korean medical school, which delivered all courses online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The self-directed learning skill survey, which included student satisfaction and perceived learning performance items, was disseminated over two weeks through email to the participants. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and multiple regressions.Results: The survey response rate was 70% (140/200). The overall mean of self-directed learning skills was 3.85. Students in medical year 2 showed the highest score (4.15), while students in medical year 1 showed the lowest score (3.69). The learning plan category score (3.74) was the lowest among the three categories. The pre-medical program year 1 students showed the lowest score in the perceived learning performance (3.16), and only the learning plan category impacted student satisfaction (t=2.605, p=0.041) and perceived learning performance (t=3.022, p=0.003).Conclusion: When designing online learning environments, it is imperative to provide features to help students set learning goals and search diverse online learning resources. In addition, it is an effective strategy to provide the students in medical program year 1 with self-directed learning skills training or support for successful online learning.

Self-directed learning: Alternative for traditional classroom learning in undergraduate ophthalmic education during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

“…Self-directed learning, as defined by Knowles, is a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies and evaluating learning outcomes [ 15 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a shift in medical education from traditional face-to-face to online or remote learning, which calls for students to be self-directed in their learning [ 16 ]. In this study, more students with high interest in ophthalmology agreed that SDL improved their self-study ability and learning efficiency, compared with students with low interest.…”

Predominant aspects of knowledge and practical skills among medical students with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic era

“…The proficiency of a medical student in performing medical skills is crucial and fundamental concerning being a competent practitioner in the future. Before the pandemic starts, the medical skills education is preferred to be done offline, because the simulation is considered to improve the medical practical performance [ 10 , 20 ]. The simulation is reliable for assessing medical skills topics’ learners [ 21 ], being a more engaging method to study medical skills [ 22 ].…”

Extraversion in COVID-19 Coping

“…Self-directed learning can be encouraged in individuals within a context through following a self-developed process [25,26] and has been found most successful in relation to student-led activity structures during COVID-19 restrictions [129]. The importance of COVID-19-related self-directed learning has been supported by educators in various countries during the pandemic [130,131,132].…”