Teaching Psychomotor Skills in a Virtual Environment: An Educational Case Study

Abstract

In March 2020, most physical therapy schools across the globe transitioned to online learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This change posed unique challenges not only because it required adapting to new technology in a short period but, more importantly, it involved developing ways to teach hands-on psychomotor and clinical skills virtually while maintaining the quality of instruction. In response to the rapid transition, the physical therapy program at MGH Institute of Health Professions (IHP)designed and implemented a novel and effective coaching model to address the challenges. The model was developed based on experiential learning theory, constructivism, a coaching framework, and andragogical principles of feedback and reflection. Not only did the model meet its objectives of effectively teaching basic psychomotor skills in the virtual environment, but it may also have andragogical benefits that can be applied to traditional face-to-face methods. This case study describes the theoretical underpinning of the model, its development and implementation, the perceived effectiveness for learning psychomotor skills in a virtual environment, and the potential for broader relevance to future models of physical therapy education.

Examining Clinical Readiness and Performance of Students on Clinical Education Experiences: Is There an Influence From Virtual Learning?

“…When looking at part 1 of the survey, CIs reported that all students in the virtual learning group had acceptable overall clinic readiness, which indicates the efficacy of virtual learning as perceived by CIs. As indicated by Plummer et al, 9 recording and rerecording of skills requires extra practice that may not occur outside of the traditional F2F simulation class time. This could contribute to the overall perceived clinic readiness noted by the CIs.…”

“…Students reported that recording and rerecording videos provided extra practice time and stated they received adequate feedback to effectively perform the skills being taught. 9 It is important to note that there is very little literature on the comparison of F2F instruction with purely online courses, especially considering the kinesthetic, hands-on nature of physical therapy coursework. The lack of literature on this topic may be attributed to the small number of DPT programs providing this type of learning model.…”

Assessment of student readiness for clinical education in mixed-mode curriculum delivery: a case study

“…The rapid switch to online learning posed substantial challenges to HPE, including physical therapy, as face-to-face training and hands-on skill development are essential curricular components. In addition, this abrupt change in didactic delivery required HPE programs to consider how to convert the traditional in-person content, which relies heavily on psychomotor skill development, to a virtual model (Plummer et al , 2021b). In some cases, HPE programs had to rearrange curricular content to keep students safe and on track for graduation (Plummer et al , 2021a).…”

Student Confidence and Interest in Acute Care Physical Therapy Through Peer Simulation

“…Importance of feedback is further supported by Plummer et al, 17 who investigated the use of virtual instruction to teach psychomotor skills to DPT students. By developing a virtual model with instructor feedback, role-playing, peer feedback, and 1:1 coaching sessions, the students attested that the volume and variety of feedback was beneficial to the performance and acquisition of psychomotor and affective skills.…”

“…Instructor feedback was reported as the most beneficial, though 86% of students agreed that viewing peer videos positively affected their learning by providing the opportunity to reflect on their own performance. 17 Simulation has provided useful benefits to clinical education and student confidence regardless of the type of patient, physical environment, and clinical setting. 2,8,12,25,26 Although the use of F2F simulation-based learning has proven valuable, there continues to be minimal research assessing the effects of virtual simulation on student confidence and their perception of readiness for clinical practice.…”