Abstract
The Effect of Collaborative Learning Sessions on Academic Outcomes in a Graduate-Level Physiology Course
Marye Lee1, Anastasia Mashukova, PhD1
Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD)
INTRODUCTION: Physiology is a requisite course for many health professions. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of physiology courses offered to entry level students in health professions programs in (1) traditional in person instructor-led format in 2019, (2) fully online format (due to COVID-19) with added collaborative sessions incorporated halfway through the course in 2020, and (3) BlendFlex format (students could elect to attend didactic lectures online or in person) with online collaborative sessions throughout the entire course in 2021.
METHODS: Pretest, posttest, and unit exam score averages were compared between years via Student’s t-test.
OUTCOMES: This year, analysis of unit 1 and 2 exams revealed that incorporating collaborative sessions resulted in significantly higher scores compared to didactic lectures and recordings (p-value <0.01). The unit 4 exam score was significantly higher, demonstrating that incorporation of interactive sessions improved learning outcomes (p-value <0.05). Additionally, comparison of 2021 exam scores with 2019 (course delivered in person with didactic lectures) demonstrated increased scores for three out of four units (p-value <0.05). Furthermore, this year we observed a significant increase of posttest scores in comparison with 2019 and 2020 (p-value <0.05), indicating improved understanding of physiology.
DISCUSSION: Altogether, our data confirm that incorporating interactive sessions significantly improved students’ performance in both fully online and BlendFlex (combination of online and in person) format physiology courses. The results of this study will be used to improve the effectiveness of fundamental science courses offered to students in health professions programs in the future.
