Effectiveness of Quiz-Enhanced Videocasts for the Review of Foundational Sciences in the Podiatry Curriculum.

Abstract

Integrated medical curricula commonly require the review of foundational science concepts in the context of clinical applications. A detailed analysis of the Des Moines University second-year medical curricula revealed that such reviews, conducted as hours-long basic science lectures in second-year clinical systems courses, often create undesirable redundancy and can load the curriculum with excessively detailed content. We hypothesized that short, quiz-enhanced videocasts (QEVs) would allow a more focused and efficient review of foundational sciences than traditional lectures. Five biochemistry lectures in the second year Des Moines University Doctor of Podiatric Medicine curriculum were reviewed for relevance and redundancy, shortened to 8- to 12-min QEVs and offered to students as an alternative to the respective hours-long lecture. Download data show that students chose content delivery by QEV as frequently as delivery of lectures, with QEV use peaking in the days immediately preceding the exam. Survey comments show that students appreciate the efficiency and flexibility of content delivery by QEV, particularly for focused exam preparation. We conclude that the review of foundational concepts by means of short, interactive videocasts can reduce redundant and excessively detailed content from integrated curricula. Although the faculty effort for context review, content selection, and videocast production is higher than for the design of a traditional lecture, the end product offers students a much-appreciated opportunity for efficient, focused, and individualized learning.