Context / probleemstelling of aanleiding

Context/probleemstelling of aanleiding:

While online education has many advantages, the lack of high-quality interaction is often mentioned as a disadvantage [1]. In (bio)medical education, there is not much known about how students and teachers experience this problem. By gaining insight into how students and teachers experience online interaction and how they believe it can be improved, we might be able to design appropriate interventions to improve future online courses. In this study, we aim to learn about how students and teachers experience quality of online interpersonal interaction, and especially about reported facilitators, barriers, and solutions for implementing high-quality online interaction.

Beschrijving van de interventie/innovatie:

Students involved in online courses of Leiden University Medical Center were invited to participate in a pilot focus group session. The semi-structured focus group was conducted online with 6 participants and was led by a moderator. The 90-minute session was recorded and transcribed. The focus group data was analyzed by template analysis by two researchers in ATLAS.ti. The a-priori codes for the analysis were based on components of quality of online interaction that we found from a scoping review [2].

Ervaringen/analyse van de implementatie:

Data analysis has uncovered several facilitators, barriers, and solutions. In general, students reported feeling lonely and feeling treated like a number, but also mentioned benefits such as improved comfort and less commuting. Notable reported facilitators were the presence of approachable and trained teachers, of moderators in online sessions, and the implementation of virtual tools. As barriers, participants reported decreased awareness of body language, as well as technology issues, and less interest from others to create meaningful connections. Suggested interventions included regular evaluation sessions, training the teachers, mandatory camera and sound, educating the students by providing them with guidelines, and supporting those who do not have conditions for online interaction at home.

Lessons learned (implicaties voor de praktijk):

We identified various facilitators, barriers, and solutions for online interaction as reported by students. While some of the uncovered components can be linked to our findings from the literature, most of them are novel, showing the value of our social-constructivist approach. Our pilot findings will be enriched by conducting 6 more focus groups with students and teachers. The findings will be used to design interventions to improve quality of online interaction and to formulate recommendations for students and teachers.

Referenties (max. 2):

Ferri, F., Grifoni, P., & Guzzo, T. (2020). Online learning and emergency remote teaching: Opportunities and challenges in emergency situations. Societies, 10(4), 86.

Lupascu, A., Hendriks, R.A., van der Hage, J.A., de Jong, P.G.M. (n.d.). How to define, measure, and improve quality of online interaction: A scoping review. Manuscript submitted for publication.