Assessing the effect of an online HIV/AIDS course on 1st-year pharmacy students’ knowledge

Effectiveness of online learning interventions on student engagement and academic performance amongst first-year students in allied health disciplines: A systematic review of the literature

“…For example, Australian research by Cordier et al (2016) and Curtis et al (2013) reported positive impacts from online teaching interventions on students' understanding of child development and plagiarism concepts, respectively. Improvements were reported by students in their knowledge and confidence following participation in the AIDS Online International course undertaken in South Africa (Suleman, 2016). The research by Gagnon (2015) also reported increased use of social media (Twitter) following the intervention (use of Twitter to teach, support and model professional online communication in a first-year physical therapy professionalism course).…”

“…There was a great deal of variability in the parameters underpinning the use of online teaching interventions in the teaching and learning context. While some studies used online teaching interventions to meet the assessment needs of a course (such as Cordier et al, 2016;James, 2016;Nutan & Demps, 2014), other studies extended the online learning approach to encompass all aspects of teaching and learning (Curtis et al, 2013;Lewis & Sewell, 2007;North et al, 2018;Suleman, 2016). Some studies utilised online learning interventions as targeted strategies to achieve a single outcome as part of the course delivery, such as preparation for the final assessment (Delaval et al, 2017), while other studies used these strategies with a focus on promotion of discussions among the student cohort (Lin & Crawford, 2007).…”

“…The most common approach, utilised by five studies (Benino et al, 2011;James, 2016;Lewis & Sewell, 2007;McClean et al, 2016;Moni et al, 2007), was to capture students' perceptions of and experiences about online teaching interventions through routine feedback mechanisms (such as end-of-semester evaluations) or targeted strategies (such as the use of a bespoke survey instrument). Other studies (Cordier et al, 2016;Curtis et al, 2013;Gagnon, 2015;Kalata & Abate, 2013;Suleman, 2016) explored students' experiences with online teaching interventions through their self-reported understanding of the concepts covered, perhaps as a proxy for student engagement. Some studies evaluated other proxy measures of students' experiences of, and engagement with, online teaching interventions through time spent with the resource and how often they accessed or used them (Lin & Crawford, 2007;Nallaya et al, 2018;Vaughan, 2009).…”