Abstract:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, given the global epidemiological circumstances, distance learning has become a fundamental component of educational institutions. Distance learning, not including “face-to-face” contact, delivers educational content through online communication. Some areas, like foreign language studies, were more prepared for this kind of education due to more feasible adaptations of their educational content. In biomedical area, teaching relies on both, theoretical and practical (clinical and laboratory skills) approach to knowledge acquisition, which was considered inappropriate for distance learning. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, contact teaching has been largely restricted, so adjustments have been necessary to continue the educational process. In biomedical field, teaching related to theoretical knowledge has been adapted to distance learning, while practical training has been reduced, being held either in an epidemiologically appropriate manner or temporarily postponed, but not discontinued. The lack of practical training is being compensated by developing a number of digital materials, including 3D models and simulations, videos of laboratory exercises, and live tutorials. Nonetheless, these substitutes are not an adequate replacement to live practical demonstrations, ones that incorporate patient interaction. Precisely because of the various forms of teaching and education, distance learning poses a number of challenges to organizers of such teaching methods. Student satisfaction and achievement of educational goals are the greatest indicators of the success of such studies. Our goal is to develop a reliable, valid, and widely applicable questionnaire for assessing quality of distance learning in the biomedical area. In the initial phase, we formed a focus group of three members. Reflecting on problems that students encounter during distance learning, we developed 24 questions that we examined on a test sample of 62 randomly selected students. Analysis of pre-existing questionnaires for assessing quality of distance learning enabled adaptation of components to the specificities of biomedical studies. Furthermore, our analysis showed a large disparity in the obtained answers. Ultimately, we decided to construct a larger set of questions that assess identical issues in order to determine the consistency of the answers delivered by the respondents. In the next phase of the survey, two students were added to the existing focus group. Questions were formulated in a more acceptable manner for students and further analysis of the potential shortcomings of the survey was done. Thus, a new template of a questionnaire was created, consisting of seven open-ended questions focusing on students’ sociodemographic data and 70 items examining students' perceptions of several segments of distance learning quality. These are teachers’ performance, personal performance, educational quality and organization, cooperation, and conditions for participation. The questionnaire will go through pre-validation and validation phases and only the components which prove to be statistically reliable will be retained. Prevalidation results of the questionnaire would be presented at the EDULEARN21 conference.

Keywords:

Distance learning, medical education, questionnaire, educational assessment.