Staff and student perceptions of digitally enhanced practical teaching and assessment methods are generally unknown across health sciences. There is a need to identify staff and student perceived opportunities and barriers to digitally enhanced teaching in the health sciences generally, and in practical skill acquisition specifically.
This study’s objective were to examine
- Staff and student attitudes towards digitally enhanced practical teaching and assessment.
- Staff and student experiences of and perceptions of the barriers to and opportunities for digitally enhanced practical teaching.
A cross-sectional online survey was distributed among third level institutions, examining staff (n = 41) and student (n = 96) experiences of digitally enhanced practical teaching, perceived opportunities and barriers and personal experiences of practical skill assessment. Data was exported to SPSS and filtered to identify participant subgroups based on survey pathways. Descriptive statistics were performed on quantitative data while qualitative data collected from open-box responses was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s process of deductive thematic analysis. Results were discussed using the community of inquiry framework.
Attitudes towards digitally enhanced practical teaching were mixed among participants; staff described digital tools as holding potential for enhancing clinical teaching while students believed tools were not being maximised by educators. Of the staff who had not carried out digitally enhanced assessment (56%, n = 23), 39% (n = 9) struggled to identify an appropriate technology supported method to assess learning outcomes. Students expressed exasperation with the ‘’low standard’’ of technological literacy among teaching staff leading to ‘’so much wasted potential’’. However, many staff felt that designing and developing resources for online delivery helped them to structure their learning content systematically, with clear learning outcomes that support student success. For example educators could take time to ensure recorded skill demonstrations were of a greater quality than an in-person skill demonstration.
It is evident that various types of technology are already being used to support practical teaching. The current study identifies features of technology that support or hinder learning as well as opportunities for collaboration with industry to create tools which might better facilitate practical assessments. This research identified the importance of maximising aspects of traditional teaching and technology enhanced teaching and ensuring a balance between teaching approaches for student success. Specifically with respect to practical teaching, there is a need to consider the effect of technology on teaching presence. While technology can lead to positive experiences within social and cognitive presences, a deficit in teaching presence due to the addition or omission of technology may undermine student success. Blended learning, is supported by both those who teach and those who learn.
This work heavily informed the creation of a free open educational resource and provides an evidence-base for related changes in Physiotherapy curricula.
clinical skills
online
