ABSTRACT
Background and Purpose: Critical thinking is a high priority outcome of higher education. With the ever-increasing spread of virtual courses, enhancement in the critical thinking in distance learning has become the center of attention for the stakeholders
The present study was conducted to qualitatively examine the experiences of teachers and students in teaching and learning critical thinking in medical education
Methods and Materials: In this qualitative study, 7 E-teachers and 11 postgraduate E-students of medical education were interviewed using a semi-structured method. All interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and then analyzed through constant comparison based on Strauss and Corbin's method
Results: Three themes were identified in this study; nature of critical thinking, critical thinking within the framework of medical education discipline; and the teaching-learning process of critical thinking in the virtual environment
Conclusion: The participants' experiences indicated that the learning-teaching of critical thinking in virtual education is affected by teaching strategies, the features of course management software, creation of a learner-centered environment and the role of critical thinking as one of the objectives of curriculum and evaluation
ABSTRACT
Blended E-Learning is an educational method which has been used recently in higher education worldwide. So, it seems that it is crucial for the Iranian academic members to accept it as a new educational method. This study was conducted to investigate attitudes of the faculty of Nursing and Midwifery School at Tehran University of Medical Sciences toward blended E-learning. In this cross-sectional study, all faculty members of Tehran University of Medical Science [n=60] were recruited to the study. Data were gathered using validated and reliable self-designed questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. The response rate was 93.33% [n=56]. Most of the respondents [85.7%] were female. The mean age was 44.88 [SD=5.6]. The years of teaching ranged from 5-30 years [mean=16.75]. The majority of the respondents [66%] had positive attitude toward blended e-learning; thirty four per cent had completely positive attitude and none of them had negative attitudes. About 41% reported that they were eager to provide their course syllabuses according to this approach and 87.5% said that they were willing to attend the blended e-learning education workshops. There were no significant relationships between demographic variables and the attitudes. There was a significant relationship between willing to attend the workshops and positive attitude toward blended e-learning [P=0.012]. According to the positive attitude of the respondents toward blended e-learning, it is recommended that further studies take place in order to design and implement the approach in formal education in the school of Nursing and Midwifery of Tehran University of Medical Science