Changing Undergraduate Medical Students’ Perception of Online Learning and Assessment During the Covid-19 Pandemic: a One Year Follow-up Study

@#Introduction: Like most educational institutions, our medical school transitioned to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. An initial survey of 192 undergraduate medical students conducted in June 2020 revealed a low acceptance of online assessments, lack of work-readiness, perception of online discussions as being inferior to face-to-face, and prevalent anxiety. Following this, we implemented pedagogic changes to encourage independent learning, improve patient contact, and increase social interactions between students. Methods: A follow-up study was conducted 12 months later in the same student population, excluding those who had graduated. The same 14-item anonymized survey questionnaire was administered, and comparisons were made between the follow-up and initial responses. Results: At follow-up, 45.6% of participants felt that online assessments can adequately and fairly assess students’ performance compared to the initial study (26.2%, p = 0.002). Participants at follow-up were generally more agreeable that discussion using an online learning platform was as effective as faceto-face learning compared to before (p = 0.017). Subgroup analysis showed that this was only true for Year 2 – 4 students. Year 5 students perceived online learning as less effective then face-to-face, reported lower confidence in their ability to apply their knowledge, and an increased in anxiety compared to before. Conclusion: While perception of online learning and assessment had improved at follow-up, the ramifications from restrictions to medical education over the past two years are now being felt most severely by the current final year students, emphasizing the importance of anticipating and addressing these concerns much earlier.

Study of the perceptions of the educational environment among undergraduate medical students of Taylor's University.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. A conducive educational environment is vital to successful learning. Perception of students about their particular educational environment may vary depending on their educational background, gender, level of study, and many other factors. Awareness and understanding of the students' perception of educational environment are a key to improve our teaching and learning environment. The aim of the study was to determine the perception of undergraduate medical students of Taylor's University, Malaysia on their educational environment. A cross sectional cohort study was conducted among preclinical and clinical students simultaneously at Taylor's University, School of Medicine in July 2019. Overall total scores of perceptions (136.55 ± 19.6) and those for the subscales were very satisfactory and similar to those of other local universities as well as international universities. There was a significant difference between preclinical and clinical students in two domains; Perception of Course Organizers and Academic Self-Perception, with higher scores among clinical students in all. There was a significant difference between students with Grade 'B' and those with Grade 'C' in the mean total score and Perceptions of Atmosphere. These results, in spite of being satisfactory, urge us to seek methods of and opportunities for further enhancement of the students' education environment.