Youngsung Lee*, Professor, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea, Republic Of Arafeh Karimi, Research Associate, Xri Global, Palo Alto, United States Paul Kim, CTO, Stanford University School of Education, Palo Alto, United States Eun-jung Lee, Professor, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea, Republic Of Track: Research Presentation Topic: Web 2.0-based medical education and learning Presentation Type: Oral presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Building: Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School Room: C-Rotunda Room Date: 2012-09-15 09:45 AM – 10:30 AM Last modified: 2012-09-16

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Background

Medical students are not only expected to master an enormous body of knowledge, but they also need to achieve high levels of critical thinking and self-assessment to be successful. However, medical academics and practitioners have raised concerns about the low levels of critical thinking and social skills of medical students due to traditional memorization-based pedagogies. Many researchers have suggested implementing activities that improve cognitive skills in medical schools. In response to this need, many medical schools have adopted learner-centered approaches such as problem-based learning (PBL) and have reported positive changes in students’ performance, engagement, and social and communication skills.
Technology has contributed to creating a more learner-centered environment in classrooms. However, there is a lack of understanding concerning how best to implement new technologies in classrooms, what social aspects should be taken into account, and how pedagogy, technology and social interactions should be balanced to maximize students’ engagement and learning.
In an attempt to fill this gap, this study analyzes the effects of team-based mobile inquiry-based learning environment on students’ critical thinking and engagement and further aims to find the balance in team collaboration to maximize critical thinking and engagement of students. Specifically, the study utilizes the Stanford Mobile Inquiry-based Learning Environment (SMILE), a mobile-based Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) generator application, to engage students in self-assessment and peer assessment through the question solutions and peer ratings. SMILE provides a means by which students can create questions, share solutions with their peers and critically evaluate those solutions according to given criteria. The peer review process is purported to have numerous benefits for students, both for those producing the feedback and those who receive the feedback.

Methods

An ongoing study investigated the implementation of SMILE in Inter and Intra team-based collaboration modes in a core medical course at Chungbuk National University Medical School in South Korea with 30 senior medical students and three faculty members. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through survey and open-ended questions. Students generated questions, and their peer evaluation results were qualitatively analyzed. The critical thinking level of generated questions was measured using a revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Participants’ engagement level in different collaboration modes has been collected via survey and open-ended questions and further quantitatively analyzed. In addition, students’ and faculty members’ peer evaluation results were analyzed to further investigate the critical thinking level and the quality of generated questions

Results

Preliminary results revealed a higher level of engagement in intra team-based collaboration in SMILE activities, whereas critical thinking analysis of generated questions so far indicated mixed results. Overall, students in intra team-based collaboration achieved higher ratings from their peers and faculty members. Evaluation criteria will be analyzed and discussed in further details.

Conclusion

So far we have concluded that the SMILE application can be used to facilitate a more engaging student-centered learning environment in medical education classrooms and that it can promote a higher level of critical thinking among students.

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by a grant of the Korea Healthcare technology R&D Project‚ Ministry of Health & Welfare‚ Republic of Korea.(Grant No. : A103001)