Expanding the traditional physiology class with asynchronous online discussions and collaborative projects

Discussion and writing are very powerful ways to support learning. This article describes the use of a free, asynchronous online forum to expand student-teacher discussions beyond the time/place constraints of the physical physiology classroom. The main participants were medical students enrolled in physiology class at the University of Zagreb Medical School and their teachers. The assessment data were collected by the electronic administration of the software, by anonymous paper questionnaires, and by the results of the final examination in physiology. During one academic year, 25% (n = 55) of 220 students enrolled in a traditional physiology course participated in online discussions. Physiology teachers and other faculty also joined the forum. All forum members (n = 99) posted 395 messages. Nine documents were published by six students who participated in two online collaborative projects. The difference in the mean grade of the final examination in physiology between student members and nonmembers was statistically significant (P = 0.0328, t = 2.1526). Students who participated in Web discussions were self-selected. Likely, they are the most motivated students, who would perform better on the final examination with or without this resource. Nevertheless, using an online forum could be very successful in teaching critical thinking in physiology because the Internet removes traditional time/place barriers. However, new barriers related to technology and behavioral changes are created. For most teachers and students, the main obstacles to information technology implementation are lack of motivation and lack of professional incentives. To overcome these barriers, institutional support is needed for both students and teachers.