Remote physiology practical: Viable alternative to in-person practical in health sciences education?

Abstract

Introduction: Practicals are core components of an undergraduate health sciences curriculum to promote experiential learning and motivation in students. With restrictions on traditional forms of face-to-face practicals during the COVID-19 pandemic, we designed and investigated the efficacy of remote practicals as a viable learning strategy in exercise physiology teaching. Methods: Student volunteers were instructed to perform a graded exercise test in a remote setting and provide their collected data for subsequent discussion in an online lecture. The effectiveness of this remote practical in promoting students’ motivation and learning outcomes achievement was assessed via an anonymous questionnaire containing 29 closed-ended and 2 open-ended items. Continual Assessment (CA) results were also investigated. Unpaired student’s t-tests were performed for comparisons between interventions with significance level set at P<0.05. Results: Sixty-one (out of 81; 75%) students responded to the questionnaires and 49 (60%) consented to the use of their CA results for this study. Results revealed that students were moderately motivated and attained strong achievement of learning outcomes. When compared to students who did not volunteer for the hands-on component of the remote practical, students who participated in the hands-on component reported significantly higher self-efficacy (P<0.05) in explaining the practical procedures to their peers. Qualitative analysis further revealed that experiential learning and real-life data analysis were the central reasons supporting the effectiveness of the remote practical. Students were generally satisfied and would recommend the remote practical to future students. Conclusion: Our study highlights the potential of remote practicals as viable alternatives to traditional practicals.