Theme
7AA eLearning: Games, resources and platforms
INSTITUTION
Linkoping University - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences - Linkoping - Sweden
Linkoping University - Department of Medical and Health Sciences - Linkoping - Sweden
Setting
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Linköping University in Sweden train students in medicine, biomedicine, biomedical laboratory sciences as well as in nursing and other health professions. Pharmacology is an important subject in many of the programs. The Faculty of Medicine and Health has been using Problem Based Learning (PBL) since 1986. In recent years the number of students has increased rapidly and there is a need to try out new and innovative learning tools.
Why use virtual labs?
Deep understanding of pharmacokinetics is crucial for patient safety
Students often find pharmacological concepts hard to grasp
Real experiments are time consuming and expensive to carry out
Virtual laborations/computer simulations enable students to practice over and over again
With virtual laborations animal experiments can be avoided
With virtual laborations the use of hazardous chemicals can be decreased
Aim of the pilot study
To integrate a virtual lab in an existing course
To find out if students’ understanding of pharmacological concepts improve by using a virtual tool
Method
A virtual lab software was used as a learning resource for Biomedical students
Four groups of totally 90 students carried out assignments using the virtual lab software
After completed assignment and a follow-up seminar, 35 of these students were asked to evaluate the virtual lab in a questionnaire and focus group interviews were performed in two tutorial groups with totally 16 students
Data collection methods
In order to measure the results of the intervention different data collection methods were used.
- Questionnaires to all students
- Focus group interviews with students
- Individual interviews with the participating teachers
Result from the Questionnaire
In a questionnaire to students from two Biomedical programmes, students were asked to rate perceived learning contribution of different teaching modalities in pharmacokinetics. Out of the 35 students 29 responded. The results indicated that the majority of students rated virtuel lab/computer simulation with a follow-up seminar nearly as high as lectures and tutorial groups. Results from Medical Biology students varied more than the results from Biomedical Laboratory Science programme. The main cause to low rating, as stated by several students in a section for "additional comments" in the questionnaire, was technical problems with the computer and simulation program.
Rating of perceived learning contribution of teaching methods in pharmacokinetics by students at Biomedical laboratory Science programme (Coruse 3, n=12) and Medical Biology programme (Course 3, n=17). Rating 1 denotes very small and rating 4 denotes very large learning support. Bars show min to max with line at mean.
Results from the focus group interviews and interviews with teachers
Focus group interviews with two tutorial groups from the Biomedical Laboratory Science programme (n=16) were carried out after the examination. Originally four interviews were planned, two from each program but unfortunately the students from the Medical Biology programme did not show up. An interview guide was used to give a time-line structure to the discussions in the group. Students were asked to report from the different learning activities and describe in detail what had been done and their thoughts about it. The students were also asked to report on how they approached the assignments and their own preparations for the seminar. How much time they had used for the virtual lab and if they experienced any trouble using the computer program also came up in the interviews. At the end of the interview they were asked to summarize and assess the different learning activities' contribution to their understanding.
What did the students think?
- In general the students reported that they had enjoyed the virtual lab and the way this had been integrated into the course
- The possibility to experiment freely with the different parameters was particularly appreciated by the students
- Most students reported having achieved a deeper understanding through the way the assignments were constructed and the virtual lab
- Almost all students would recommend other students to use to the virtual lab program in order to get a better understanding
What did the teachers think?
- The teachers reported that creating challenging assignments is time-consuming
- They also spent quite some time helping students out with the computor problems
- The teacher also reported major initial problems with the software
This is how it was done
-
A computer aided learning module: Pharmacokinetics Simulation v2.Ow, was purchased from CoAcS (Commercial and Academic Services Ltd, Bath, UK).
-
The module was installed and tested in the students' computer hall
-
Teachers prepared a number of assignments in a compendium for the students
-
Theoretical lectures and a PBL tutorial group work in pharmacokinetics proceeded the virtual labs
-
Teachers demonstrated one case in the virtual lab simulator for the entire class.
-
Students used thier textbooks and the Swedish official pharmacopeia to carry out the virtual lab simulations and to answer theoretical questions in the compendium individually or in small groups
-
The virtual lab work was followed up in a seminar for reflection and further analysis of the lab results
The results from the questionnnaire were more varied with a lower mean-rate on computer simulation and follow-up seminar for the Medical Biology students as compared to the Biomedical Laboratory Science students. This difference could be explained by the fact that Biomedical Laboratory Science students got a more thorough introduction to the simulation program and scheduled supervision to go ahead with the computer simulation and assignements in the compendium.
"The tail that wags the dog"
Furthermore this new approach did not result in better scores in the final examination for medical Biology students. This might be explained by the well known observation that students direct thier studies to what they think will be examined (Ramsden P, 2003).
Perspectives for the future
In order to increase students understanding of pharmacological concepts we need to change our current setup. Preferably, the students should start with solving easy introductory assignments on their own. A follow-up seminar should then be conducted where the students receive new tasks that enable them to apply their newly gained basic knowledge in more complex settings.
Lessons learned
- Students enjoy experimenting on their own
- Well-prepared guidelines are essential
- It’s important to aligne the virtual lab with other teaching modalities
- Reflection on action is nessesary for deep learning
- The technique must work all the time
- Students who actually do the lab learn more then those who don't !
Reis M et al: Läkartidningen 2013 vol 110 p 2156-2157.
West and Veenstra: Austalian Journal of Education 2012 vol 56 p 56-57
Lisha J: Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics 2013 4:(2):86-90
Morgan DL: Focus groups as qualitative research vol 16: 2:d edition; Sage Publications 1997
Ramsden P: Learning to tech in highet education: 2:d ed, 2003.
This study was supported by Linköping University Education Development Department for which we are most grateful.
We would also like to thank the univesity's IT-unit for thier support and patience when helping us to install and adjust the soft ware.We would also like to give a special thank to the CoAcS for helping our IT-technicians.
Last but not least we would like to thank all the students who participated in the study and gave us their time and insightful comments!
Thank You!