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Beyond "YouTube clips": a qualitative study of manual therapy educators' perceptions of 3D technology in MT education
Kesava Kovanur Sampath1,2, Cindy McIntyre3, Ashokan Arumugam4,5,6,7
1Department of Osteopathy, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
Objectives:
Three-dimensional (3D) technologies such as virtual reality (VR) may facilitate the teaching and learning of manual therapy (MT). Teachers play a pivotal role in determining how new tools and technology are adopted and applied in the curriculum. Moreover, educators' feedback can guide the development of tools tailored to MT training needs. This qualitative study aimed to explore MT educators' perceptions of current teaching methods, the role of 3D technologies in MT education, and the barriers and enablers to their integration.
Design:
In-depth interviews; data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Setting:
online.
Participants:
13 educators (9 males, 4 females; 10 physiotherapy, 3 osteopathy) from five different countries participated in this study.
Results:
Five themes were identified that appeared to influence participants' perception of the role of technology in manual therapy education. These were (1) Teaching strategies in MT, (2) Paradigm shift in MT education, (3) Complexities in teaching MT - Tacit and embodied challenges of palpation and specificity, (4) Role of educators in MT education and (5) Future directions and technological integration in MT education. These five themes collectively highlight both the challenges and opportunities in MT education.
Discussion And Conclusion:
The participants not only critiqued the current teaching methods employed in MT but also their role as an MT educator. While acknowledging the paradigm shift in MT education, participants believed that emerging technologies such as VR are transformative tools for MT education. Future research to explore the added utility of technology such as VR to traditional teaching methods is required.
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