Pilot Study of Web-based PBL in Emergency Medicine Clinical Education

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Problem-based learning (PBL) has been used in medical schools due to its educational effectiveness in terms of critical thinking, problem-solving skills, integration of theory and practice, and enculturation of the community of practice. In the digital age, however, ICT (information and communication technology)-based PBL, especially, webbased PBL seems more appropriate to meet socio-educational needs when the features of web, such as multimedia based rich information, multichannel links and navigation, connectivity (interaction and collaboration), and conservation of messages posted on the online board are considered. In this context, this case study attempted to apply 'blended learning' mode that combined both on-site and on-line classrooms, and to maximize the educational purposes of PBL. This case study examined students' perception about web-based PBL to provide basic information and data for further development and implementation of the web-based PBL METHOD: As a pilot test of the web-based PBL mode, we developed a pre-case module on the web was to provide the students with a chance to experience web-based PBL before it was fully applied to the whole class. The content of the pre-case was 'panperitonits due to gastric perforation', what a primary physician should know about. This project included two collaborative teams 1) The development team from the graduate school of education which was in charge of the web-based PBL module development and the evaluation of the pilot test, and 2) the case development team from the Emergency Department of the school of Medicine, which dealt with the simulation (patient and doctor interaction) development, the preparation of the learning resources, and the tutor sheet. RESULTS: The participating students were mostly quite satisfied with the web-based PBL class, particularly pointing out the effectiveness of integrating theory and practice, the authentic learning tasks, and the student-directed learning environments. CONCLUSION: The highly positive responses from the students indicate that further practices using web-based PBL for classes should be more seriously considered for a more proper medical-school educational environment in the 21st Century.