Recording student clinical experiences as potential future learning resources to support practical skills in veterinary science and dentistry education at the University of Bristol. A talk about software developed by the Institute for Learning and Research Technology, presented at the Higher Education Academy (HEA) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workshop on Crowdsourcing in Higher Education in February 2014, in Bristol.

1. Clinical Experience Recorder
HEA STEM sponsored workshop
University of Bristol, February 28th 2014
Organisers:
Phil Langton (Bristol), Kay Yeoman (UEA)
Chris Bailey and Simon Price
Institute for Learning and Research Technology

2. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Background
• Collaboration between;
• Vet School
• Medical School
• ILRT
• Goals:
• Encourage reflective and shared learning
• Move away from Word documents...
• ...towards online formative and summative assessment
• Crowdsourced body of clinical cases as an educational resource
• Ran from 2005 until 2012

3. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Dental programme drivers
• Move towards flexible student-centred learning
• Emphasis on life-long learning
• Competency based assessment
• Emphasis on reflective practice

4. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Recording clinical cases

5. IT Services R&D / ILRT

6. IT Services R&D / ILRT

7. IT Services R&D / ILRT

8. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Features
• Multiple review phases
• Students working individually or in groups
• Multiple reviewers with restrictive editing rights
• Simple notification & signoff support
• Monitoring student progress
• and the following...

9. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Assessment & inline feedback

10. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Customisable workflows

11. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Repository of 'exemplar' clinical cases

12. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Evaluation
Trail 1:
Vets (CER)
Trial 2:
Dentists (CER)
Trial 3:
Dentists (ePortfolio)
Spring 2007 Autumn 2008 Spring 2008
200 students 60 students 60 students
230 cases completed
and assessed
complex workflow:
- resubmission loops
- mentors as well as
tutors
- record student
competences
- reflexive feedback on
own progress
- reviewed by clinician
and unit organiser

13. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Feedback
• Student feedback
• Most reports have pictures, videos, x-rays and scans ("...some from mobile
phones!" – remember this was pre-iPhone)
• Students not on pilot asked, “when system would be available for all?”
• Majority of students found system “relatively easy to use” or better
• 88% thought it would be useful to have their own portfolio
• 100% thought online library of exemplars was a useful learning resource
• Staff feedback
• Majority reported a perceivable increase in quality of reports submitted by
students
• Recognised that “online reporting was becoming essential”
• Largely positive feedback from tutors (but increased workload!)

14. IT Services R&D / ILRT
eLearning Tutorials
• Content sourced from
case repository
• Resources already
consent cleared
• Developed by recent
graduates (over 6
months)

15. IT Services R&D / ILRT

16. IT Services R&D / ILRT
Lessons learnt
• Model customisable to a range of disciplines / settings
• Tutors surprised at student engagement
• Exemplar cases relatively easy to adapt from real cases
• eLearning tutorials were resource intensive to create
• Pilot (accidentally) became production system
without required investment in development