Integrate e-learning as a supplement to rather than replacement of traditional teaching (blended learning)¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The review's design recommendation is that educators should not seek to replace traditional methods but supplement them, an approach it describes as a 'blended-learning' style. Ten included studies concluded an integrated approach works best, and thirteen studies used terms such as "adjunct", "complement", "supplement", "hybrid" and "blended" to describe integrating e-learning with traditional learning.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Educators should evaluate e-learning approaches and consider incorporation of suitable strategies into current curricula to ensure equitable access and student success

Constraints¶

• For teaching new skills, use of only e-learning materials may not be sufficient, as direct observation and guidance of an expert is valuable; a blended-learning environment may be more appropriate

Target Learners¶

• undergraduate medical students in clinical medicine

Target Learning Goals¶

• clinical knowledge, skills and reasoning across disciplines such as surgery, radiology and dermatology

Claims¶

• Individual reviewed studies reported statistically significant knowledge and skill gains from e-learning interventions compared with controls [+W]
• Across the review's randomised controlled trials, e-learning showed no significant differences in knowledge mastery versus controls, but greater short-term learner satisfaction [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Blended Learning
• Integrate e-learning as an adjunct to face-to-face teaching in emergency medicine curricula
• Integrate virtual and augmented reality as supplementary tools rather than full replacements for traditional learning methods
• Integrate simulation technologies with traditional teaching through blended approaches tailored to specific clinical tasks
• Position immersive technologies and virtual patients as supplementary components within blended learning rather than stand-alone replacements for established clinical communication training
• Integrate GAI-based teaching into medical curricula with robust curricular integration, technological support, and systematic training for educators and students
• Teachers and intervention designers should use mobile devices thoughtfully alongside other teaching approaches, ground designs in existing evidence, and evaluate rigorously
• Include a variety of online and face-to-face components to accommodate different learning styles
• Consider VR as an adjunct to dissection and evaluate cost-effectiveness and adverse reactions when adopting VR for anatomy teaching

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Delungahawatta T., Dunne S. S., Hyde S., Halpenny L., McGrath D., O'Regan A., Dunne C. P. (2022). Advances in e-learning in undergraduate clinical medicine: a systematic review. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03773-1