Out of sight, out of mind: Do repeating students overlook online course components?

Abstract

E-Learning is becoming an integral part of undergraduate medicine, with many curricula incorporating a number of online activities and resources, in addition to more traditional teaching methods. This study examines physical attendance, online activity, and examination outcomes in a first-year undergraduate medical program. All 358 students who completed the Alimentary System module within the first semester of the program were included, 30 of whom were repeating the year, and thus the module. This systems-based, multidisciplinary module incorporated didactic lectures, cadaveric small group tutorials and additional e-Learning resources such as online histology tutorials. Significant differences were demonstrated in physical attendance and utilization of online resources between repeating students and those participating in the module for the first time. Subsequent analyses confirmed that physical attendance, access of online lecture resources, and utilization of online histology tutorials were all significantly correlated. In addition, both physical attendance and utilization of online resources significantly correlated with summative examination performance. While nonattendance may be due to a variety of factors, our data confirm that significant differences exist in both physical attendance and online activity between new entrants and repeating students, such that all students repeating a module or academic year should be routinely interviewed and offered appropriate supports to ensure that they continue to engage with the program. While the development of complex algorithmic models may be resource intensive, using readily available indices from virtual learning environments is a straightforward, albeit less powerful, means to identify struggling students prior to summative examinations. Anat Sci Educ 9: 555-564. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Undergraduate Medical Students' Usage and Perceptions of Anatomical Case‐Based Learning: Comparison of Facilitated Small Group Discussions and eLearning Resources

“…While the ideal of allowing students to self‐direct their study means that students may select to complete these resources at a convenient time, and at their own pace, many students may feel that they do not have the time, and so omit to access or complete them (Taylor, ; Hege et al, ; Mahnken et al, ). One student commented specifically on this dilemma, and it mirrors findings in previous studies, particularly among weaker students, who are more likely to have poor time management skills (Winston et al, ; Mahnken et al, ; Holland et al, ). Their similarity to the cases used for small group tutorial discussions, which are published within their course workbook and available in PDF format online, may be one reason why we found less engagement with the online version than anticipated; if students had the opportunity to participate in a facilitated discussion, perhaps they then felt that the online lesson was of no further value.…”

“…Responses to the survey were inconsistent and at times contradictory, however, these effects are potentially more common than many researchers realize, and do contribute to a potential for error in any survey‐based study (Meade and Craig, ; Maniaci and Rogge, ). While the emphasis in this study was on exploring how these educational interventions affected the attitudes of learners, and the process of learning, linking comparing engagement with these activities to survey responses and subsequent examination outcomes would provide additional data regarding short‐term information retention (Hammick et al, ; Holland et al, ). However, when completing the end‐of‐semester student survey, into which these questions were inserted, students are assured that their identities and responses will remain entirely anonymized and confidential, even in the event that some questions may be inserted and used for research purposes.…”

“…However, there are some disadvantages, or caveats, to the use of eLearning resources which should be considered when introducing them within a curriculum (Taylor, 2002;Cook, 2007). Not all students will enter medical education with sufficient computer skills, or indeed time management skills, to utilize these self-directed eLearning resources efficiently and effectively (Helsper and Eynon, 2010;Holland et al, 2016;Henderson et al, 2017). In addition, the lack of face-to-face interaction has been suggested to lead to a lack of motivation in students enrolled within eLearning courses, which may result in lack of completion or high dropout rates, particularly in the context of MOOCs (Welsh et al, 2003;Childs et al, 2005;Hege et al, 2007;Halawa et al, 2014;Swinnerton et al, 2017).…”

The Anatomy of Persistence: Remediation and Science Identity Perceptions in Undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology

“…Additionally, out of all re-takers in our sample, 41% received the same or lower letter grade than the letter grade they reported from their previous attempt, in line with some work that suggests that prior anatomy coursework does not significantly benefit undergraduate students (Wehrman et al, 2020), but in contrast with other research which suggests that prior exposure to A&P or retaking the course has a positive impact on student assessment grades (Schutte, 2016). Variance in re-taker success could be due to engagement in formative assessments, as prior research suggests that re-takers who complete formative assessments fare better than those who do not (Dibbs, 2019;Holland, Clarke, & Glynn, 2016). Though we did not examine types of engagement quantitatively, one participant, Lennon, reported her difficulty staying engaged in the course during her second enrollment (Table 3).…”

HistoNFC: An Innovative Tool for the Practical Teaching of Histology Using NFC Technology

“…To this end, in recent decades an important change has taken place in the teaching of histology via the use of new technologies that complement and, in some cases, have replaced traditional teaching methods with technological ones [4][5][6][7][8], among which are those using interactive software [9][10][11], e-learning platforms [12][13][14][15], and, mainly, virtual microscopes [16][17][18][19], whose results have been studied by different authors [20][21][22][23].…”