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N. Kalra1, P. Singh2, R. Parasher3
1Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Physiotherapy, Faridabad, India, 2Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Faridabad, India, 3Venkateshwar Hospital, Physiotherapy, New Delhi, India
Background: There has been an advent in the use of Mobile Apps in the academic space. The pandemic hastened their usage, and forced us to rapidly innovate in order to meet the educational needs of our students.Also, Mobile Apps have been known to facilitate self-learning, make it enjoyable, and personalise the pace of learning of the individual.
Given the level of skill-learning in Physiotherapy education, the use of Mobile Apps can pose a challenge, as well as offer an opportunity to explore its scope to enhance learning, and create innovative pedagogic strategies. There are a very few learning mobile apps that have been assessed in Physiotherapy education.
Given the level of skill-learning in Physiotherapy education, the use of Mobile Apps can pose a challenge, as well as offer an opportunity to explore its scope to enhance learning, and create innovative pedagogic strategies. There are a very few learning mobile apps that have been assessed in Physiotherapy education.
Purpose: Firstly, to develop a validated Gait Mobile App, and secondly, to evaluate its use in enhancing learning compared to using only a blended (classroom + online) format of teaching physiotherapy students.
Methods: In the first phase, a mobile app based on a bachelor of physiotherapy Gait curriculum was developed and validated using Delphi procedure, with 80% agreement criteria,by a group of experts. Subsequently, the App was rated by 203 users on: engagement, aesthetics, information, subjective quality.
In the second phase, level of learning and satisfaction were evaluated in students following 2 weeks of teaching a course on Gait: 73 students received a blended format, while another 68, in addition, got to use the Gait Mobile App. Descriptive statistics and a between (2 levels: 2 groups) and within (3 levels of test difficulty: easy, moderate, difficult) ANOVA, were used to analyse the data.
In the second phase, level of learning and satisfaction were evaluated in students following 2 weeks of teaching a course on Gait: 73 students received a blended format, while another 68, in addition, got to use the Gait Mobile App. Descriptive statistics and a between (2 levels: 2 groups) and within (3 levels of test difficulty: easy, moderate, difficult) ANOVA, were used to analyse the data.
Results: The content validity index following 2 rounds of Delphi was found to be 0.88. Also, therapists found the App easy to use, and 80% gave it a rating of >3 stars.
The Gait app was well received by potential users, and therapists in both groups reported high levels of satisfaction, in teaching skills, assessment and generic skills in both groups (p>0.05).
Students that used the App demonstrated significantly better scores. Analysis revealed a significant interaction (p<0.05) for the composite, theory, and practical scores. Post-hoc (p<0.05) revealed significantly better test scores in students using the App for the easy and difficult scores.
The Gait app was well received by potential users, and therapists in both groups reported high levels of satisfaction, in teaching skills, assessment and generic skills in both groups (p>0.05).
Students that used the App demonstrated significantly better scores. Analysis revealed a significant interaction (p<0.05) for the composite, theory, and practical scores. Post-hoc (p<0.05) revealed significantly better test scores in students using the App for the easy and difficult scores.
Conclusions: Creating, designing, implementing, and evaluating the efficacy of a Gait App as a means to teaching the GAIT component to physiotherapy students was found to be appealing, beneficial and efficacious. The inclusion of the App assisted students achieve higher cognitive test scores in both theory and practical assessments when compared to students who only received traditional lecture style instructions.
Implications: Given the robustness of our results, it is important to acknowledge that the developed Gait App appears to be an effective and appealing instrument for student teaching and learning, and hence should be incorporated in the teaching of Physiotherapy students.
Funding acknowledgements: No funding received.
Keywords:
Information and Communication Technology
Physiotherapy Education
Mobile Technology
Information and Communication Technology
Physiotherapy Education
Mobile Technology
Topics:
Education: methods of teaching & learning
Education: methods of teaching & learning
Did this work require ethics approval? Yes
Institution: Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies
Committee: Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies
Ethics number: EC/2019-20/003
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
