Investigating the efficacy of practical skill teaching: a pilot-study comparing three educational methods.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physiotherapy
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Effective practical skills education is crucial for improving clinician behavior, patient outcomes, and safety.
• Traditional teaching methods for practical skills may not be the most efficient or engaging for all learners.
• Innovative approaches are needed to enhance the delivery of practical skills training in health professions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of two innovative practical skill teaching methods (pre-recorded video tutorial and student self-video) against a traditional live tutoring method.
• To assess clinical performance, student satisfaction, and perceived educational value of different practical skill teaching methods.
• To determine if alternative teaching methods can achieve equivalent learning outcomes in physiotherapy students.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving third-year pre-clinical physiotherapy students.
• Three groups were allocated to traditional, pre-recorded video tutorial, or student self-video teaching methods.
• Clinical performance was evaluated using an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE); student satisfaction and perceived educational value were assessed via questionnaire.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in clinical performance (OSCE scores) or student satisfaction were found between the three teaching methods.
• Students rated the pre-recorded video tutorial and student self-video methods higher for perceived educational value compared to traditional live tutoring.
• Alternative teaching methods demonstrated comparable learning outcomes to traditional methods for practical skill development.

Conclusions:

• Alternative practical skill teaching methods, such as video tutorials and self-video analysis, are effective for undergraduate physiotherapy students.
• These innovative methods can yield equivalent clinical performance outcomes to traditional live tutoring.
• Adopting alternative teaching strategies offers potential flexibility in staff and infrastructure resource allocation within educational institutions.