Author: Jane Priestly, j.a.priestley@bradford.ac.uk

Author: Michael Hellawell, m.r.hellawell1@bradford.ac.uk

Author: Judith Hinton, j.hinton@bradford.ac.uk

Author: Bryan Walkden, b.walkden@bradford.ac.uk

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: Learning Resources and Activities

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Health Sciences and Practice

This case study illustrates...use of podcasting, an effect on student personal development, student satisfaction with e-learning, innovation in learning and teaching, staff satisfaction with e-learning, staff personal development, an influence on policy, management of learning assets, an effect on social equality

Background & Context

A blended learning approach was developed to increase students' awareness of a social model of care and facilitate clinical reasoning skills prior to practice. e-Learning provided the medium for the delivery of case based scenarios based on actual service user experiences, enriched with podcasts, film clips, associated digital stories and external links. Associated learning tasks facilitated the development of problem solving skills and the opportunity to apply theory to practice in a 'safe' environment.

Why did you use the e-learning approach?

Through the course review process the following factors were identified: A need to enhance the student learning experience especially in the delivery of the behavioural science, the increased emphasis on contextualised professional learning particularly in relation to the increasing emphasis on primary and intermediate care, and a need to enhance the perspective of the service user in professional education. In addition there was acknowledgement of the need to engage students in autonomous learning and to address the institutional strategy on e-learning. The learner group was a cohort of approximately 48 level 1 physiotherapy students.

A blended learning approach was identified as an appropriate strategy to address these issues, as it permitted retention of successful teaching and learning strategies previously utilised, with a concurrent increase in the use of e-learning. All elements of the approach had a practice based, person-centred focus.

What was the context in which you used this e-learning approach?

Specific features of the undergraduate physiotherapy programme were considered in the design of the e-learning element of the overall blended learning approach. Students do not experience practice based learning until level 2 of the programme thus there is a particular need to develop clinical reasoning/problem solving skills in the academic setting . In practice there is an increased contextual application of physiotherapy practice which could be simulated through e-learning, facilitating development of the reasoning processes that will be required in professional practice and allows the student to reflect, replay and revisit that process. In addition there is an increased use of technology as a learning approach by students in previous studies. Use of the virtual learning environment (VLE) allows the incorporation of service user and carer experiences without necessarily requiring face-to-face contact, and can provide representation for those who may not wish to be involved in face-to-face contact.

Prior to the e-learning approach the biomedical model was utilised consisting of traditional teaching, paper-based scenarios and external experts There were some challenges to developing the e-learning approach, principally the time and funding involved in establishing an ethically sound framework for collaboration with service users and carers in the development of case based materials.

What was the design?

Action planning though the course review process led to initial identification of the learning out comes for a new module 'Physiotherapy Intervention in Context'. A teaching and learning approach was required that would develop problem solving and clinical reasoning skills and promote insight into the psycho-social context of the patient outside the practice setting. The e-learning was part of an overall blended learning approach designed to enhance and not replace the face-to-face contact that students experienced, through the production of media rich case based scenarios with directed learning activities with associated face-to-face tutorials. To authenticate the patient experience, service user and carer views were used to inform the on-loan materials. Service colleagues were involved from the outset in the curriculum review process and had been highly influential in raising awareness of the need for students to develop appreciation of a more social model of care. In developing the e-materials there was a recognised need for accessible materials that would run alongside existing technologies that the students and staff were already familiar with.

Promotion of the collaborative approach was reinforced by action planning formulated at a two phase developmental workshop facilitated by the Health Science and Practice subject centre of the Higher Education Academy. Subsequent developments involved service users, carers, students and service colleagues with a lead from the academic team.

How did you implement and embed this e-learning approach?

The approach was implemented and embedded through Blackboard VLE training, which was delivered as part of student's induction to the programme, it was revisited in the introduction to the module and e-learning was co-ordinated and integrated from a thematic approach to mirror the focus of face-to-face contact. Verbal and written reminders were given to students and duplicated online in the VLE to maximise student participation in the e-approach. Materials were presented via Course Genie and a range of formats to increase accessibility. Staff were supported in the use of technology through peer support, and by school and institutional training for the use of e-learning. Students gave informal favourable feedback on the practice focus promoted by the case based materials and the level of organisation provided through the e-administration. There were some disadvantages; not all students accessed the materials, although this was a very small number and the time to develop materials in a truly collaborative fashion was challenging. Other issues relating to accessibility, finance and accessibility were pre-empted and dealt with during the planning stage.