Web-based versus face-to-face learning of diabetes management: the results of a comparative trial of educational methods.

@article{citeulike:1082437, abstract = {BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Relatively little is known about the effectiveness of Web-based learning (WBL) in medical education and how it compares to conventional methods. This study examined the influence of an interactive, online curriculum in a third-year medical school family medicine clerkship on students' ability to create a management plan for a patient newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. We also evaluated how the online curriculum compared to a conventionally taught curriculum. METHODS: The online course included three integrated activities: (1) self-study modules, (2) a patient case study, and (3) a moderated discussion board for posting and discussing patient care plans. The WBL curriculum was compared to small-group case-based sessions with a faculty facilitator. Students completed a test case before and after the clerkship. RESULTS: Among standard-of-care diabetic management interventions not ordered on the pretest, 38\% were subsequently correctly ordered by WBL students on the posttest, versus 33\% by students in the comparison group. For four out of five subgroups assessed on the case write-ups, the gain from before to after the clerkship favored the WBL group. CONCLUSIONS: Improvement among students learning online exceeded that of students learning face to face. This suggests superiority of the online method, a finding consistent with other recently published, well-controlled studies.}, address = {Department of Family Medicine, Boston University, Boston Medical Center, 1 BMC Place, Boston, MA 02118, USA. john.wiecha@bmc.org}, author = {Wiecha, J. M. and Chetty, V. K. and Pollard, T. and Shaw, P. F. }, citeulike-article-id = {1082437}, issn = {0742-3225}, journal = {Fam Med}, keywords = {elearning, learning, medical-education, medicine, wbl}, month = {October}, number = {9}, pages = {647--652}, posted-at = {2007-02-01 19:59:02}, priority = {5}, title = {Web-based versus face-to-face learning of diabetes management: the results of a comparative trial of educational methods.}, url = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17009189}, volume = {38}, year = {2006} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:1082437 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1082437 TI - Web-based versus face-to-face learning of diabetes management: the results of a comparative trial of educational methods. JF - Fam Med VL - 38 IS - 9 SP - 647 EP - 652 AD - Department of Family Medicine, Boston University, Boston Medical Center, 1 BMC Place, Boston, MA 02118, USA. john.wiecha@bmc.org SN - 0742-3225 N2 - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Relatively little is known about the effectiveness of Web-based learning (WBL) in medical education and how it compares to conventional methods. This study examined the influence of an interactive, online curriculum in a third-year medical school family medicine clerkship on students' ability to create a management plan for a patient newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. We also evaluated how the online curriculum compared to a conventionally taught curriculum. METHODS: The online course included three integrated activities: (1) self-study modules, (2) a patient case study, and (3) a moderated discussion board for posting and discussing patient care plans. The WBL curriculum was compared to small-group case-based sessions with a faculty facilitator. Students completed a test case before and after the clerkship. RESULTS: Among standard-of-care diabetic management interventions not ordered on the pretest, 38% were subsequently correctly ordered by WBL students on the posttest, versus 33% by students in the comparison group. For four out of five subgroups assessed on the case write-ups, the gain from before to after the clerkship favored the WBL group. CONCLUSIONS: Improvement among students learning online exceeded that of students learning face to face. This suggests superiority of the online method, a finding consistent with other recently published, well-controlled studies. KW - elearning KW - learning KW - medical-education KW - medicine KW - wbl AU - Wiecha, JM AU - Chetty, VK AU - Pollard, T AU - Shaw, PF PY - 2006/10// UR - http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17009189 ER -