19
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Student experiences of participating in five collaborative blended learning courses in Africa and Asia: a survey

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Background

          As blended learning (BL; a combination of face-to-face and e-learning methods) becomes more commonplace, it is important to assess whether students find it useful for their studies. ARCADE HSSR and ARCADE RSDH (African Regional Capacity Development for Health Systems and Services Research; Asian Regional Capacity Development for Research on Social Determinants of Health) were unique capacity-building projects, focusing on developing BL in Africa and Asia on issues related to global health.

          Objective

          We aimed to evaluate the student experience of participating in any of five ARCADE BL courses implemented collaboratively at institutions from Africa, Asia, and Europe.

          Design

          A post-course student survey with 118 students was conducted. The data were collected using email or through an e-learning platform. Data were analysed with SAS, using bivariate and multiple logistic regression. We focused on the associations between various demographic and experience variables and student-reported overall perceptions of the courses.

          Results

          In total, 82 students responded to the survey. In bivariate logistic regression, the course a student took [ p=0.0067, odds ratio (OR)=0.192; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.058–0.633], male gender of student ( p=0.0474, OR=0.255; 95% CI: 0.066–0.985), not experiencing technical problems ( p<0.001, OR=17.286; 95% CI: 4.629–64.554), and reporting the discussion forum as adequate for student needs ( p=0.0036, OR=0.165; 95% CI: 0.049–0.555) were found to be associated with a more positive perception of BL, as measured by student rating of the overall helpfulness of the e-learning component to their studies. In contrast, perceiving the assessment as adequate was associated with a worse perception of overall usefulness. In a multiple regression, the course, experiencing no technical problems, and perceiving the discussion as adequate remained significantly associated with a more positively rated perception of the usefulness of the online component of the blended courses.

          Discussion

          The results suggest that lack of technical problems and functioning discussion forums are of importance during BL courses focusing on global health-related topics. Through paying attention to these aspects, global health education could be provided using BL approaches to student satisfaction.

          Related collections

          Most cited references30

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Building Learning Communities in Online Courses: the importance of interaction

          Karen Swan (2010)
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            International medical education and future directions: a global perspective.

            R Harden (2006)
            Internationalization, one of the most important forces in higher education today, presents a powerful challenge and an opportunity for medical schools. Factors encouraging internationalization include (1) globalization of health care delivery, (2) governmental pressures, (3) improved communication channels, (4) development of a common vocabulary, (5) outcome-based education and standards, (6) staff development initiatives, and (7) competitiveness and commercialization. A three-dimensional model--based on the student (local or international), the teacher (local or international), and the curriculum (local, imported, or international)-offers a range of perspectives for international medical education. In the traditional approach to teaching and learning medicine, local students and local teachers use a local curriculum. In the international medical graduate or overseas student model, students from one country pursue in another country a curriculum taught and developed by teachers in the latter. In the branch-campus model, students, usually local, have an imported curriculum taught jointly by international and local teachers. The future of medical education, facilitated by the new learning technologies and pedagogies, lies in a move from such international interconnected approaches, which emphasize the mobility of students, teachers, and curriculum across the boundaries of two countries, to a transnational approach in which internationalization is integrated and embedded within a curriculum and involves collaboration between a number of schools in different countries. In this approach, the study of medicine is exemplified in the global context rather than the context of a single country. The International Virtual Medical School serves as an example in this regard.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: found
              Is Open Access

              Blended learning across universities in a South–North–South collaboration: a case study

              Background Increased health research capacity is needed in low- and middle-income countries to respond to local health challenges. Technology-aided teaching approaches, such as blended learning (BL), can stimulate international education collaborations and connect skilled scientists who can jointly contribute to the efforts to address local shortages of high-level research capacity. The African Regional Capacity Development for Health Systems and Services Research (ARCADE HSSR) was a European Union-funded project implemented from 2011 to 2015. The project consortium partners worked together to expand access to research training and to build the research capacity of post-graduate students. This paper presents a case study of the first course in the project, which focused on a meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies and was delivered in 2013 through collaboration by universities in Uganda, Sweden and South Africa. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods case study involving student course evaluations, participant observation, interviews with teaching faculty and student feedback collected through group discussion. Quantitative data were analysed using frequencies, and qualitative data using thematic analysis. Results A traditional face-to-face course was adapted for BL using a mixture of online resources and materials, synchronous online interaction between students and teachers across different countries complemented by face-to-face meetings, and in-class interaction between students and tutors. Synchronous online discussions led by Makerere University were the central learning technique in the course. The learners appreciated the BL design and reported that they were highly motivated and actively engaged throughout the course. The teams implementing the course were small, with individual faculty members and staff members carrying out many extra responsibilities; yet, some necessary competencies for course design were not available. Conclusions BL is a feasible approach to simultaneously draw globally available skills into cross-national, high-level skills training in multiple countries. This method can overcome access barriers to research methods courses and can offer engaging formats and personalised learning experiences. BL enables teaching and learning from experts and peers across the globe with minimal disruption to students’ daily schedules. Transforming a face-to-face course into a blended course that fulfils its full potential requires concerted effort and dedicated technological and pedagogical support.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Glob Health Action
                Glob Health Action
                GHA
                Global Health Action
                Co-Action Publishing
                1654-9716
                1654-9880
                06 October 2016
                2016
                : 9
                : 10.3402/gha.v9.28145
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Public Health Sciences (Global Health/IHCAR), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
                [2 ]Tongji Medical College, Huazhong, University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
                [3 ]Division of Community Health, Department of Interdisciplinary Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
                [4 ]Metro District Health Services, Western Cape Government, Cape Town, South Africa
                [5 ]Research on Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa
                [6 ]Department of Family Medicine, Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence to: Salla Atkins, Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden, Email: salla.atkins@ 123456ki.se

                Responsible Editor: John Kinsman, Umeå University, Sweden.

                Article
                28145
                10.3402/gha.v9.28145
                5056983
                27725077
                02b66e87-3b62-48e6-8720-213e8d6954e6
                © 2016 Salla Atkins et al.

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.

                History
                : 07 April 2015
                : 03 December 2015
                : 08 January 2016
                Categories
                Special Issue: Capacity building in global health research: is blended learning the answer?
                Original Article

                Health & Social care
                blended learning,capacity building,global health,student experience
                Health & Social care
                blended learning, capacity building, global health, student experience

                Comments

                Comment on this article