Evaluating the efficacy of a live virtual chalk talk as a teaching tool on a dermatology clerkship

ABSTRACT

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there continues to be a need for innovative virtual teaching methods. Chalk talks, or brief illustrated talks given on a whiteboard, are easily made virtual with a tablet and online whiteboard. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of a live virtual chalk talk given to medical students on their dermatology clerkship. Methodology: A 1-hour chalk talk was delivered over Zoom. The instructor engaged 3-4 students to complete a table differentiating five common papulosquamous diseases, which was followed by an interactive case-based practice session. Pre- and postintervention surveys were administered. Results: A total of 18 students participated. Based on a Likert scale (1 = least confident to 5 = most confident), and comparing pre- to postintervention, students became more confident recognizing (2.11 ± 0.76 versus 3.72 ± 0.46, P <.001) and differentiating (2.00 ± 0.59 versus 3.44 ± 0.62, P <.001) papulosquamous conditions, and students were able to more list more papulosquamous conditions (0.56 ± 2.45 versus 4.83 ± 0.51, P <.001). Qualitative responses showed that the talk was well-received students appreciated the case-based practice (n = 13, 72.2%), the white-board table (n = 10, 55.6%), level of interaction (n = 8, 44.4%), and the mix of didactic learning followed by practice (n = 6, 33.3%). The most common suggestion was a request for more details about each disorder (n = 3, 16.7%). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the ability of live virtual chalk talks to teach dermatology to medical students in an effective and engaging manner. The results encourage the broader application of this teaching format in the virtual classroom.