Scaffolding knowledge building in a Web-based communication and cultural competence program for international medical...

Professional behaviors, tacitly understood by Canadian-trained physicians, are difficult to teach and often create practice barriers for IMGs. The purpose of this design research study was to develop a Web-based program simulating Canadian medical literacy and culture, and to evaluate strategies of scaffolding individual knowledge building.

Study 1 (N = 20) examined usability and pedagogic design. Studies 2 (N = 39) and 3 (N = 33) examined case participation patterns.

Model design was validated in Study 1. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated high levels of participation, on unprompted third tries, on knowledge tests. Recursive patterns were strongest on Reflective Exercises. Five strategies scaffolded knowledge building: (1) video simulations, (2) contextualized resources, (3) concurrent feedback, (4) Reflective Exercises, and (5) commentaries prompting "reflection on reflection."

Scaffolded design supports complex knowledge building. These findings are concurrent with educational research on the importance of recursion and revision of knowledge for improvable and relational understanding.