Abstract:

The situation with COVID-19 is difficult around the world. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities in Slovakia were closed in March 2020. The teachers were forced to change the method of education from a presence to a distance form, and to choose the most suitable form of distance teaching for students (online and offline).

The basis for the almost immediate and time-effective way of distance teaching at Jessenius Faculty of Medicine Comenius University in Martin (JFM CU, Slovakia) was the interactive teaching materials created within the new project. This project is focused on modern forms of teaching in the field of Immunology, which is an integral part of medical education. The learning materials were created for individual groups of students according to their preferred learning style and were available through educational portal MEFANET and web page of the faculty. We focused on choosing such forms that respected the various preferred learning styles of students and their individuality. All medical students studying in Slovak and English had free online access to these learning materials, and they used them during full-time contact teaching during practical sessions and an individual self-study. Within a few days, we began to use these materials as a basis for a distance learning, and we expanded the range of topics, especially in the field of diagnostic possibilities of diseases of the immune system. For online contact with students, we started teaching via the MOODLE platform, MS Teams, the faculty website and the educational portal MEFANET to continue the teaching process in as much a normal way as currently possible. We used many other ways such as e-mail communication, or video training tutorials readily available to every student and teacher of the university, run in the browser, so no need to install anything. Students accepted distance learning with understanding and welcoming.

The aim of this study was to evaluate, in the form of feedback, students' experiences and their satisfaction with distance learning and to identify the most commonly used teaching materials and how students' preferred learning styles were affected by the pandemic compared to the presence form of education. 200 students studying in English and Slovak completed the questionnaire from November 2020 to January 2021. Results of the project are presented in this study.

We can conclude that our students are satisfied with the availability of study literature and its quality. They are also satisfied with the methods used during distance learning (interactive presentations, study texts, feedback in the form of tests, etc.). We have identified which teaching materials our students prefer when studying immunology. As many as 79.5% of students consider the combination of e-learning education and practical teaching to be the most effective form of the study. However, the biggest disadvantage of distance learning during a pandemic is considered by up to 84% of students (82.1 english and 85 slovak) to lack practice in the laboratory under professional supervision. More than 60% of students (65.7% english and 60.2% slovak) state that they lack direct communication with the teacher and the opportunity to discuss problematic issues. These results correspond to the identified learning styles that our students prefer.

Acknowledgement:
Supported by the project KEGA 038UK-4/2019 and KEGA 032UK-4/2019 Ministry of Education, Slovak Republic.

Keywords:

Distance education, e-learning, immunology, learning styles, COVID-19.