Innovations in online classes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and their educational outcomes in Japan

Kyoko Yamamoto; Kumiko Akiyoshi; Hidekazu Kondo; Hidefumi Akioka; Yasushi Teshima; Kunio Yufu; Naohiko Takahashi; Mikiko Nakagawa

doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04874-1

Innovations in online classes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and their educational outcomes in Japan

BMC Med Educ. 2023 Nov 22;23(1):894. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04874-1.

Authors

Kyoko Yamamoto^#¹, Kumiko Akiyoshi^#^{1

2}, Hidekazu Kondo², Hidefumi Akioka², Yasushi Teshima², Kunio Yufu², Naohiko Takahashi², Mikiko Nakagawa^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Medical Education Center, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, 1-1, Idaigaoka, Hsama-Machi, Yufu, Oita, 879-5593, Japan.
² Department of Cardiology and Clinical Examination and Diagnosis, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, 1-1, Idaigaoka, Hsama-Machi, Yufu, Oita, 879-5593, Japan.
³ Medical Education Center, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, 1-1, Idaigaoka, Hsama-Machi, Yufu, Oita, 879-5593, Japan. mikinak@oita-u.ac.jp.
⁴ Department of Cardiology and Clinical Examination and Diagnosis, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, 1-1, Idaigaoka, Hsama-Machi, Yufu, Oita, 879-5593, Japan. mikinak@oita-u.ac.jp.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic emerged in Japan in February 2020, forcing the adoption of online education by university medical schools across Japan. The advantages and disadvantages of online education have been studied in Japan; however, the educational outcome of online classes conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been completely evaluated. In this study, we examined the relationship between lecture format (e.g., face-to-face or online) and performance of third-year university students in their organ-specific cardiovascular course examination.

Methods: This retrospective, nonclinical, and noninterventional comparative educational study included 550 third-year medical students who took a cardiovascular course between April 2018 and May 2022. Cardiovascular coursework was conducted in-person in 2018 and 2019, online in 2020 and 2021, and again in-person in 2022. The course comprised 62 lecture and 2 problem-based learning (PBL) sessions. A quiz was set up in advance on Moodle based on all lectures conducted in 2021 and 2022. A written examination was administered at the end of the course to evaluate the knowledge of students. The student online course evaluation questionnaires were administered in 2020 and 2021. Examination scores and proportion of failures in each year were compared.

Results: The mean examination scores were significantly higher in 2021 and 2022 than in 2018, 2019, and 2020 (p < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analyses adjusted for the class type, online quiz, and PBL revealed that only online quiz was significantly associated with better examination results (p < 0.05). A student course evaluation survey indicated that the online format did not interfere with the students' learning and was beneficial.

Conclusions: The introduction of online classes into medical education due to the COVID-19 pandemic was as effective as face-to-face classes owing to learning management system and other innovations, such as online quizzes. Online education may confer more benefits when provided in a combination with face-to-face learning after COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Class; Education; Medical; Online; Pandemic; Students.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Humans
Japan / epidemiology
Pandemics
Retrospective Studies
Students, Medical*
Surveys and Questionnaires