Impact of item clustering on interactive spaced education

Abstract

residents (typically six) cannot attend LLLC becausethey are on vacation, on call or on evening shiftassignments. Those absent from LLLC miss thisongoing group learning activity and consequentlysuffer gaps in the learning threads. Finally, becausecase-prompted questions, concepts and learningpoints are often numerous and highly complex,substantial time is required for careful, deliberateexamination and synthesis of relevant evidence andideas. Also, as participants typically number over adozen, the time limitation of the conference (30-minutes) often prevents the complete resolution ofissues and full participation by every individual inattendance.What was done Two web-based technologies wereimplemented to enhance learner engagement withongoing LLLC sessions.1 A web-based ‘repository’ of daily LLLC proceed-ings (including links to relevant publishedevidence, case-related images, web media) wasestablished in late 2005 and made accessible to allresidents and faculty. Conference minutes wereoften drafted by a designated resident and editedby the faculty mentor.2 Piloted in the autumn of 2006, a password-protected website (blog) was introduced to allowongoing, asynchronous e-discussion of selectedLLLC topics and questions, at any time,regardless of assignment status or ability toattend morning conference.Evaluation of results and impact Resident usage ofthe blog was assessed for a 3-month period byexamining page view statistics and posted comments.Residents, including those unable to attend LLLC,participated in asynchronous e-discussion. Pages wereviewed and comments posted throughout the day,as well as during overnight and weekend on-callhours. Resident comments were consistentlythoughtful and substantive. The addition of aweb-based LLLC repository provided a permanentand growing record of conference ‘proceedings’,with links to a multitude of sources, and allowedaccess to a larger community of learners on a 24-hourbasis. However, the repository represents a staticsource, which is directed in one-way only fromparticipants to readers. The addition of a blogovercame this limitation by extending opportunitiesfor continued participation and contributions fromall residents, and thus expanding asynchronousgroup e-learning beyond the bounds of live morningconferences. Blending web-based tools withtraditional group learning leverages the advantages ofboth, and may better match current evolving anddiverse learning styles and strategies.