Online teaching in physiotherapy education during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: a retrospective case-control study on students’ satisfaction and performance

Abstract

Background During COVID-19 pandemic, physiotherapy lecturers faced the challenge of rapidly shifting from face-to-face to online education. This retrospective case-control study aims to compare students’ satisfaction and performances shown in an online course to a control group of students who underwent the same course delivered face-to-face in the previous five years. Methods Between March and April 2020, a class (n = 46) of entry-level physiotherapy students (University of Verona - Italy), trained by an experienced physiotherapist, had 24-hours online lessons. Students exposed to the same course in the previous five academic years (n = 112), delivered with face-to-face conventional lessons, served as a historical control. The course was organized in 3 sequential phases: (1) PowerPoint presentations were uploaded to the University online platform, (2) asynchronous video recorded lectures were provided on the same platform, and (3) between online lectures, the lecturer and students could communicate through an email chat to promote understanding, dispel any doubts and collect requests for supplementary material (e.g., scientific articles, videos, webinars, podcasts). Outcomes were: (1) satisfaction as routinely measured by University with a national instrument and populated in a database; (2) performance as measured with an oral examination. Results We compared satisfaction with the course, expressed on a 5-point Likert scale, resulting in no differences between online and face-to-face teaching (Kruskal-Wallis 2 = 0.24, df = 1, p = 0.62). We weighted up students’ results by comparing their mean performances with the mean performances of the same course delivered face-to-face in the previous five years, founding a statistical significance in favour of online teaching (Wilcoxon rank sum test W = 1665, p < 0.001). Conclusions Online teaching in entry-level Physiotherapy seems to be a feasible option to face COVID-19 pandemic, as satisfies students as well as face-to-face courses and leading to a similar performance. Entry-level Bachelors in Physiotherapy may consider moving to eLearning to facilitate access to higher education. Universities will have to train lecturers to help them develop appropriate pedagogical skills, and supply suitable support in terms of economic, organizational, and technological issues, aimed at guaranteeing a high level of education to their students. Trial registration Retrospectively registered.

Experience of the Egyptian Physical Therapy Educators on the Online Teaching During COVID-19 Outbreak 2021

“…When the EPTEs perceived the teaching and learning process as an advantage theme of OT they declared that it was suitable mainly for online students’ assessment and none of them found it advantageous for clinical instructions. The positive perception of the EPTEs regarding the advantage of online students’ assessment is supported by the results of the study done by Rossettini et al in 2021 in which a comparison of Italian PT students’ performance in an oral exam for a case-based course between two groups of students (online and face-to-face) was for the advantage of the online group [ 26 ]. But it should be considered that the higher performance in the oral exam for the online group of students might not actually represent higher knowledge and ability to acquire this knowledge in a clinical scenario as claimed by the researchers.…”

“…Other studies [ 33 , 34 ] reported the insufficiency of interactive material as one of the barriers to OT, particularly websites. Students’ perceived satisfaction was different from that of the EPTEs, the Italian online and face-to-face two-group students [ 26 ] showed equal satisfaction with the case-based course introduced to the two groups. The difference in perception between EPTEs and the Italian PT students may be related to the difference between the case-based course and the clinical and practical courses.…”

“…An example of the studies conducted on the students is the commentary done by Rossettini et al, in which they concluded that the PT students were motivated by the OT to overcome geographical barriers, but at the same time, the students were not sure about achieving the learning outcomes of a clinical case-based course and they perceived limitations the OT in terms of practical and clinical instructions, both for teaching and assessment [ 25 ]. Another study compared the satisfaction of one course between two groups of Italian PT students (46 OT and 112 face-to-face) and it revealed that the OT may be a feasible option to face the COVID-19 [ 26 ]. Internationally, there are a few studies that investigated the perception of PTEs regarding OT as the study done by Plummer in Brazil, the USA, and Cyprus [ 2 ] but to the author’s knowledge, there is no Egyptian study that highlighted the OT for PT program and at the same time focused on PT educators.…”

Digital Entry-Level Education in Physiotherapy: a Commentary to Inform Post-COVID-19 Future Directions

“…Moreover, in a course of scientific writing for healthcare students, including physiotherapist students, online instruction was better than standard face-to-face instruction in terms of writing quality [30]. Finally, a recent study produced during COVID-19 pandemic showed comparable students' performance and satisfaction after a course delivered online when compared to an historic cohort of students who underwent the same course face to face in previous years [31].…”

Exploring the Efficacy of a Virtual First Year Interprofessional Education Event

“…Some studies had indicated that virtual online sessions may increase student confidence in clinical decision making [ 3 ], increase students’ knowledge of other professional roles [ 4 ] and increase a student’s perception of team performance [ 5 ]. Since then, several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of virtual learning with students achieving learning outcomes similar to in-person experiences [ 6 , 7 ], reporting online learning as a positive experience [ 8 , 9 ] and findings of higher student performance in online learning strategies compared to in-person learning, with no difference in student satisfaction [ 10 ].…”