Medical students: what educational resources are they using?

Abstract

BackgroundThe number of resources available to medical students studying a degree in medicine is growing exponentially. In addition to traditional learning resources such as lectures and textbooks, students are increasingly using e-learning tools like commercially available question banks to supplement their learning. Student preference for learning resources has not been described in detail, and a better understanding of the tools perceived to be useful could provide essential information to medical educators when designing and implementing medical curricula.MethodsWe invited 1083 undergraduate and postgraduate medical students from two major Australian universities to complete an online survey. Questions asked students to indicate the frequency with which they use various types of resources when learning new material or when revising previous content.ResultsApproximately one third (32.3%, N = 350) of invited participants completed the survey, and of those who responded, the gender distribution was even with a median age of 25 years. Making written notes and reading textbooks were the most frequently utilized resources for learning new material. Online or downloaded question banks were the most frequently used resource for revision. In addition to the use of traditional learning tools, the majority of students report using a variety of e-learning tools including online teaching videos (92%, n = 322) and question banks (90.6%, n = 317).ConclusionDespite the trend towards e-learning, traditional resources like attendance at face-to-face lectures remain the most popular for learning new material. The increasing use of question banks raises potential issues of poor alignment to medical school curricula. With the advantages of exam technique practice, time efficiency and multiplatform availability, their popularity is likely to continue. Evaluation of existing question banks is required to facilitate appropriate integration into the curricula, with equitable access for all students.

A survey on the effectiveness of WhatsApp for teaching doctors preparing for a licensing exam

“…[2]Medical students have incorporated social media platforms (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp) in their e-learning, using online question banks and study aids to supplement their academic learning. [3] The evaluation of these social media tools and platforms in medical students' preparation of formal standardized examinations (e.g., national medical board certifications) may highlight an overlooked benefit in the learning process.…”

PeerWise and Pathology: Discontinuing a teaching innovation that did not achieve its potential

“…Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are a common assessment format in medical education. Students therefore often use MCQs for learning, to test understanding and recall (Burk-Rafel, Santen and Purkiss, 2017;Wynter et al, 2019). MCQ writing for question banks has also been reported as a small group learning activity for medical students, who report this as an enjoyable and useful learning activity (Gooi and Sommerfeld, 2015;Harris et al, 2015;Lawrence, Famokunwa and Ziff, 2016).…”

Creating assessments as an active learning strategy: too time-consuming for benefit gained?

“…The study by Kurtz et al [1] shed light on how students can benefit from writing multiple choice questions (MCQs) as an active learning strategy. As students increasingly learn by answering practice questions online [2], devising and sharing questions could provide further benefit. As an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, I have seen the value of students answering questions to revise but haven't seen peer-devised question banks shared amongst my fellow medical students.…”

“…This could be achieved by involving a large cohort to devise questions to share in a peer-made question bank. Moreover, existing online question banks aren't targeted to specific curricula [2] so students may benefit from resources focussing on their institution's learning objectives.…”

“…To conclude, as highlighted by Kurtz et al [1], creating assessments, particularly with MCQs, can be beneficial for students' active learning. Students find revising topics through practising questions useful [2] and therefore could benefit further from designing questions. However, further research is needed to ascertain if this would be beneficial for other question styles e.g.…”