Converting small group workshop to the online setting
Converting small group workshops to the online setting
Is it possible to recreate the social learning that happens in small group workshops in an online setting with 300+ students? That was the challenge that Dr Kay Leedham-Green and the Professional Values and Behaviour (PVB) team faced when they set about designing an online session for year 1 medical students.
Context
This was originally planned as a face to face session but Covid restrictions meant that it had to be converted to an online format in a short space of time.
The session falls within the Quality Improvement strand of PVB and is delivered to students in the first year of their Medical degree. The focus of the session is sustainable quality in healthcare and the team were lucky to draw on the expertise of the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare to help support the session. Learn more about the set up of the session and the rationale behind the design in the podcast extract below.
We wanted to create that social side of learning and to get students to work in groups…to get that complex mastery through application to real world problems.
KAY LEEDHAM-GREEN
Summary of session components and digital tools used
Pre session
Coursera: used to host pre-session materials
Microsoft Forms: used to capture pre-session learning (students answered 6 questions in total, 2 questions for each item of pre-reading)
Live session
Zoom: extended meeting licence allowing up to 50 breakout rooms
Sharepoint: used to host worksheets. One student from each group acted as scribe to fill in the worksheets
Post session
Qualtrics: used to gather feedback on the technology, the pre-session materials and the impact of the learning.
Reflections
In part 2 of the podcast below, Kay reflects on the student experience and identifies ways that large, online, active learning sessions like this can be improved. Whilst there are tweaks that Kay would make, the session was ultimately a success and students benefitted from the social learning that took place. From a technology standpoint the session ran smoothly which is testament to the careful planning that Kay and the team put in beforehand.
If you would like to run a session like this but don’t know where to start, please get in touch with the Digital Learning Team and we will be happy to help guide you through the process.
We need to pay more attention to time testing how long the pre-reading takes and to ensure that every item of pre-reading has value to students who need to be strategic in their learning.
KAY LEEDHAM-GREEN
Kay's Top Tips
- Time test how long the pre-reading takes and ensure that every item of pre-reading has value for students.
- Give students plenty of time to complete tasks. You should treat the live session as you would a live workshop and the minimum length for a workshop is usually around 90 minutes.
- Recruit as many academic staff members as you can to help facilitate the sessions. Students appreciate having tutor support in the breakout rooms.