Abstract
Background: A student's level of curiosity in a subject after learning about it through online videos has not been addressed well in the medical education field. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate online learning's effect on the stimulation of curiosity and short-term learning outcomes in a blended framework of precision medical education.Methods: A mixed-methods research design was used. During the 2020 academic year, all fifth-year medical students who, prior to class, viewed 6 video clips that presented 6 core concepts were invited to complete a survey and self-reflection on their learning process to assess their level of curiosity in each concept. For each group of medical students, teaching assistants helped collect anonymous survey data and summative assessment scores representing the students' learning outcomes. Video-viewing patterns, attained through an action log transformation, were also coded for analysis. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were employed to compare differences between groups, and multiple linear regression was used to select the factors affecting learning outcomes. Qualitative data were content-coded through a descriptive approach using thematic analysis.Results: Of 142 medical students, 136 watched the online videos, 124 responded to the questionnaires, and 92 provided comments. Students' curiosity levels after learning about each concept through online videos significantly correlated with the degree to which a concept was learned. Medical students spent a median of 1.6 h online, and pause frequency correlated with curiosity in certain concepts. Aroused curiosity was associated with short-term learning outcomes in inconsistent effect sizes and directions. Students' feedback revealed various dimensions of curiosity, including novelty acknowledgment, recognition of an information gap, and information-seeking requests.Conclusions: Curiosity can be induced through online video learning platforms and has a role in short-term learning outcomes in medical education.
Highlights
Curiosity can be broadly defined as the desire to acquire new knowledge and new sensory experiences, which motivates exploratory behavior [1,2,3]
Medical students spent a median of 1.6 h online, and pause frequency correlated with curiosity in certain concepts
Curiosity can be induced through online video learning platforms and has a role in short-term learning outcomes in medical education
Summary
Curiosity can be broadly defined as the desire to acquire new knowledge and new sensory experiences, which motivates exploratory behavior [1,2,3]. In the medical education field, studies in cognitive psychology and education have suggested that common instructional practices may inadvertently suppress curiosity by conflating haste with efficiency, neglecting negative emotions, promoting overconfidence, and using teaching approaches that encourage passive learning [4]. Specific educational strategies that can support curiosity in both classroom and clinical settings include the mindful pacing of teaching, modeling effective control of emotions, confronting uncertainty and overconfidence, using inquiry-based learning, helping students see familiar situations as novel, simultaneously contemplating multiple perspectives, and maximizing the value of small-group discussions [4]. A student’s level of curiosity in a subject after learning about it through online videos has not been addressed well in the medical education field. The purpose of this study, was to investigate online learning’s effect on the stimulation of curiosity and short-term learning outcomes in a blended framework of precision medical education
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