Self-perceived competency of the medical faculty for E-Teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

Shaur Sarfaraz; Naseer Ahmed; Maria S Abbasi; Batool Sajjad; Fahim Vohra; Rana S Al-Hamdan; Ahmed A Maawadh; Nawwaf Al-Hamoudi; Sameer A Mokeem; Nada Aldahiyan; Tariq Abduljabbar

doi:10.3233/WOR-203332

Self-perceived competency of the medical faculty for E-Teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

Work. 2020;67(4):791-798. doi: 10.3233/WOR-203332.

Authors

Shaur Sarfaraz¹, Naseer Ahmed^{2

3}, Maria S Abbasi², Batool Sajjad⁴, Fahim Vohra⁵, Rana S Al-Hamdan⁶, Ahmed A Maawadh⁶, Nawwaf Al-Hamoudi⁷, Sameer A Mokeem⁷, Nada Aldahiyan⁶, Tariq Abduljabbar⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Education, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan.
² Department of Prosthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, Pakistan.
³ Prosthodontics Unit, School of Dental Sciences, Health Campus, University Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.
⁴ Department of Oral Surgery, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Prosthetic Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Restorative Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Periodontics and Community Dentistry, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 33325429
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-203332

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the self-perceived competency (FSPC) of medical faculty in E-Teaching and support received during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: An online well-structured and validated faculty self-perceived competency questionnaire was used to collect responses from medical faculty. The questionnaire consisted of four purposely build sections on competence in student engagement, instructional strategy, technical communication and time management. The responses were recorded using a Likert ordinal scale (1-9). The Questionnaire was uploaded at www.surveys.google.com and the link was distributed through social media outlets and e-mails. Descriptive statistics and Independent paired t-test were used for analysis and comparison of quantitative and qualitative variables. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 738 responses were assessed. Nearly 54% (397) participants had less than 5 years of teaching experience, 24.7% (182) had 6-10 years and 11.7% (86) had 11-15 years teaching expertise. 75.6% (558) respondents have delivered online lectures during the pandemic. Asynchronous methods were used by 61% (450) and synchronous by 39% (288) of participants. Moreover, 22.4% (165) participants revealed that their online lectures were evaluated by a structured feedback from experts, while 38.3% participants chose that their lectures were not evaluated. A significant difference (p < 0.01) was found between FSPC scores and online teaching evaluation by experts. The mean score of FSPC scale was 5.62±1.15. The mean score for student's engagement, instructional strategies, technical communication and time management were of 5.18±1.60, 5.67±1.61, 5.49±1.71 and 6.12±1.67 respectively.

Conclusions: Medical faculty members were found somewhat competent in E-teaching for student engagement, instructional strategy, technical communication and time management skills. Faculty receiving feedback was more competent in comparison to peers teaching without feedback.

Keywords: SARS-CoV 2 virus; Teaching staff; competency; health sciences; online teaching.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Communication
Education, Distance*
Faculty, Medical / psychology*
Female
Formative Feedback
Humans
Male
Pandemics
Professional Competence*
SARS-CoV-2
Self Concept*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teaching / psychology
Time Management