Utilizing New Technologies for the Improvement of Problem Based Learning in Medical Education

Georg Kitz, g.kitz@student.tugraz.at

Outline

• Problem Definition / Motivation

• Learning Methods

• Technology Stack

• Prototype

• Usability Testing

• Improvements

• Follow Up Strategies

• Results

• Questions

Problem Definition / Motivation

• Practical Year at Medical University of Graz

• Students work on real cases in hospitals

• Students are assigned to 3 supervisors

• Supervisors are guides for questions

• Communication and feedback works with paper reports

• Grading based on the reports

Problem Definition / Motivation

• Student issues

• Organised note taking and reporting

• Organising multiple case files

• Continuous feedback and guidance

• Supervisor issues

• Handling high student numbers, beside their everyday job

• Delivering fast feedback and guidance

• Multiple supervisor communication

Is it possible to improve Problem Based Learning by using modern technologies?

Problem Definition / Motivation

• From paper and pen to a modern online reporting and feedback tool

• Introducing new technologies to the field of Medical Education

• Integrated flexibility for student users (mobile devices)

Learning Methods

• Active Learning vs. Passive Learning

• Problem Based Learning

• Teacher selects topics to work on

• Student gathers as much information as possible on his own about the topic

• Teacher is a guide who helps students if needed

Prototype / Technologie Stack

Web portal for Supervisors

Web portal for Students

iPad App for Students

Technologie Stack

Webportal

Django / Python Postgres

iOS App

Objective C / Cocoa

REST API

Prototype / Webportal for supervisors

Prototype / Webportal for supervisors

• Shows every change a student made at one glance

• Browse through all versions of a student’s report

• See comments of all other supervisors

• Enable comment-function based on hierarchical level

Prototype / iPad App for students

Prototype / iPad App for students

• Allows instant reporting in front of the patient

• Allows asking questions as and when they occur

• Allows easy multiple case file handling

• Instant access to supervisors’ feedback

• Improved student + supervisor interaction

Usability Testing

• Thinking Aloud as testing method

• 3 medical students each performing 5 tasks

Usability Testing / Positive Feedback

✓ Overall feedback was positive and indicated that the use of the novel system is beneficial for all parties involved

“it is a tremendous timesaver in comparison to the paper and pen approach and makes the duty of filling in case files quite enjoyable”

Usability Testing / Minor Flaws + Suggestions

- Differences between iPad and Web Portal

➡ Missing Traffic Light System

➡ History Button Inconsistency

- Mark unprocessed entries

- Mark last commented entry

- Improved image handling

Follow Up Strategies

• Test the supervisor part

• Deploy the system in “production”

• Better authentication strategy

• Add unit testing to build a less error prone system

• Add cucumber/selenium for automatic UI testing

• Add Jenkins for integration tests in order to have fail safe releases

Results

• Successfully built a web portal

• Successfully built an iPad app

• Successfully tested the student part with usability tests

• Students approved that the system would be a significant improvement

Is it possible to improve Problem Based Learning by using modern technologies?

It’s principally possible, but the system needs to be tested in a real environment over a longer

timespan!

Questions?