The comparison of teaching efficiency between massive open online courses and traditional courses in medicine education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate and compare the passing rates of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) with Traditional Courses to indicate how to improve the teaching efficiency in Medicine Education.Methods: A systematic search of relevant published literature was conducted to collect relevant retrospective cohort studies that compared the teaching efficiency of MOOCs and Traditional Courses.Results: There are three retrospective cohort studies included in the final meta-analysis. There were no significant differences in the passing rates of MOOCs and Traditional Courses.Conclusions: it is necessary for universities to invest in online education to promote the development of MOOCs, which will probably have an advantage over Traditional Courses for postgraduate medical education in the near future.

Introduction to dental medicine: Analysis of a massive open online course in dentistry

“…17,19 By varying subject matter while following the xMOOC structure, IDM built on evidence that learners in more structured courses maintain better engagement and understanding of the material. 20,21 IDM also provided learners from around the world the chance to learn directly from well-known and highly regarded experts, a rare opportunity in dentistry. 6 Although concern has been expressed that online learning will decrease contact with professors, IDM allowed learners novel access to professors, providing a new personal connection to dentistry often reflected in student reviews.…”

COVID‐19 Pandemic Prompts a Paradigm Shift in Global Emergency Medicine: Multidirectional Education and Remote Collaboration

“…Smartphones are relatively common among health care providers worldwide and can be effective for group conversations and sharing free online health education collated under the hashtag of #FOAMed (Free Open Access Medical education) as well as providing encouragement and support of ongoing distance learning 34–36 . Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) present another opportunity to expand educational opportunities and maybe as effective as traditional programs 37 . These free online courses and lectures on sites such as Coursera and edX provide the added benefit of self‐directed, asynchronous learning.…”

“…[34][35][36] Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) present another opportunity to expand educational opportunities and maybe as effective as traditional programs. 37 These free online courses and lectures on sites such as Coursera and edX provide the added benefit of self-directed, asynchronous learning. However, MOOCs have limitations as well, including lack of local contextualization, primarily English language-based material and low completion rates.…”

Massive open online courses for continuing professional development of GPs

“…Learner input required is about 4.2 hours a week on average (Liyanagunawardena and Williams, 2014). The content of a MOOC is often mixed to embrace variety, with video lectures, quizzes and discussion boards, and most MOOCs provide opportunities for social learning and links to further learning resources , Zhao et al, 2018, Liyanagunawardena and Williams, 2014, Goldberg and Crocombe, 2017.…”