Abstract
BackgroundModern clinical practice increasingly relies on collaborative and team-based approaches to care. Regulatory bodies in medical education emphasise the need to develop collaboration and teamwork competencies and highlight the need to do so from an early stage of medical training. In undergraduate medical education, the focus is usually on collaborative learning, associated with feedback and reflection on this learning This article describes a novel educational instrument, the Collaborative Learning Development Exercise (CLeD-EX), which aims to foster the development of key collaborative learning competencies in medical students. In this article we report on the effectiveness, feasibility and educational impact of the CLeD-EX.MethodsIn this study, the “educational design research” framework was used to develop, implement and evaluate the CLeD-EX. This involved adopting a systematic approach towards designing a creative and innovative instrument which would help solve a real-world challenge in developing collaborative learning skills. The systematic approach involved a qualitative exploration of key collaborative learning behaviours which are influential in effective collaborative learning contexts. The identified competencies were employed in the design of the CLeD-EX. The design of the CLeD-EX included features to facilitate structured feedback by tutors to students, complemented by self-evaluation and reflection. The CLeD-EX was field-tested with volunteer junior medical students, using a controlled pre-test post-test design. Analysis of the completed CLeD-EX forms, self-perception surveys (i.e. pre-test and post-test surveys) and analyses of reflective reports were used to explore the educational impact of CLeD-EX, as well as its utility and practicality.ResultsAfter using the CLeD-EX, students showed a significant improvement in critical thinking and group process as measured by a previously validated instrument. Both students and tutors recognised CLeD-EX as an effective instrument, especially as a structured basis for giving and receiving feedback and for completing the feedback loop. CLeD-EX was also found to be feasible, practical and focused, while promoting learning and effective interactions in small group learning.ConclusionThe findings of this study support the introduction of an effective and feasible educational instrument such as the CLeD-EX, to facilitate the development of students’ skills in collaborative learning.
Highlights
Modern clinical practice increasingly relies on collaborative and team-based approaches to care
The design of the Collaborative Learning Development Exercise (CLeD-EX) included a structured format for evaluation, feedback and reflection to promote key behaviours for effective collaborative learning in medical students. In this manuscript we report on the effectiveness, feasibility and educational impact of the CLeD-EX
Effectiveness and educational impact of CLeD-EX Pre-test and post-test evaluation: Impact of CLeD-EX on Students’ Self-Directed Learning (SDL), Critical thinking (CT), and Group Processing (GP) Comparison of pre-test self-evaluations by students (Table 6) revealed no significant difference between the intervention and control groups
Summary
Modern clinical practice increasingly relies on collaborative and team-based approaches to care. Regulatory bodies in medical education emphasise the need to develop collaboration and teamwork competencies and highlight the need to do so from an early stage of medical training. Collaborative learning and teamwork are core competencies that impact on the quality of health care [1]. Accreditation bodies for Medicine programs have developed frameworks to ensure that collaboration and teamwork skills are developed to standards required for effective clinical practice and patient care [2,3,4]. At the start of a medicine program, medical students often work and learn together in small group learning contexts, elevating the importance of collaborative learning. During collaborative learning students have the opportunity to develop skills in managing their learning (i.e. self-directed learning) while interacting with peers to discuss and debate concepts which will promote higher order cognitive reasoning
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