Evaluation of a web-based learning management platform and formative assessment tools for a Medical Parasitology Original undergraduate course Article Rita M Wassef1, Fatma Alzahraa A Elkhamisy2 Parasitology1 and Pathology2 Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt ABSTRACT Background: Medical education for undergraduate students in preclinical sciences is challenging and often and increase students' engagement and performance. The incorporation of new technological tools can describedhelp in this as regard. boring by students. Educators have to find interesting new methods to deliver information Objectives: This retrospective study investigated two technological tools: Google Classroom learning management platform and Google Quiz Forms for online assessment, as regards students' satisfaction, engagement, and performance. Design and Methodology: The same Parasitology course was taught in a classic face-to-face way during of the students of each year was compared and a questionnaire was introduced at the end of the second theyear first to assess year of the the students' study and satisfaction. taught by blended learning technique over the second year. The performance Results: Students who took full advantage of these tools showed improvement of their performance P (mean=P<0.001). 79 Amongin the assessment 128 questionnaire versus 83.6 respondents in their final, 78.9% exam preferred ( =0.01) theand e-learning,achieved significantly 94.5% found better the scoresGoogle thanClassroom those easyof year-1 to use, and 76.6% year-2 described in the final it as exama time (mean= saver for 83.6 submission versus 76.3 of assignments and 72.7 respectively, and 96.9% expressed their wish to continue to use the blended learning as well as the formative assessments in other courses and would recommend it to others. They all agreed that the formative assessments at the end of each lecture helped them in summarizing the delivered topic and consolidated the received information. Conclusion: Use of these mobile-friendly, freely available technological tools in resource-limited higher education institutions is recommended to improve the students' engagement and performance in the preclinical sciences. Keywords: formative assessment; Google classroom; learning management platform; medical education; medical parasitology. Received: 6 May, 2020, Accepted: 21 May, 2020. Corresponding Author: Rita M Wassef , Tel.: +20 1005782994, E-mail: [email protected] Print ISSN: 1687-7942, Online ISSN: 2090-2646, Vol. 13, No. 2, August, 2020. INTRODUCTION Learning management system platforms (LMPs) are one of the main web-based technologies All medical schools in Egypt have recently directed to support learning in higher education witnessed a major curricular and pedagogical change, institutions. They provide an online folder for the and shifted away from lecture-centered teaching course management that allows sharing study toward student-centered learning. Likewise, efforts to materials; posting and submitting assignments; encourage inquiry and self-study, and actively engage connecting and chatting with the tutor outside the students in their learning process have gained much importance in recent years[1]. With the improvement other different online learning activities[6]. On the of educational technology, web-based learning tools otherlimited hand, formal Google office Classroom hours; isand a free participation LMP that was in have emerged as valuable resources to improve launched by Google in May 2014, as a new application academic performance and enhance motivation and for self-learning education. It primarily aims to self-directed learning among the new generation of learners[2]. Educational tools have become creation, distribution, and grading assignments in an unlimited[3]. Various web-based tools that support environmentallysimplify the process friendly of sharing paperless files; way.streamlining This allows the student-centered learning have surfaced; they serve teachers to spend more time with their students and less time on the paperwork (https://support. learning styles[4]. Besides, guidelines for use of these google.com›edu›classroom› answer). With its newest toolsas a major are also contributor freely available to fulfill facilitating the needs exploration of diverse improvements, Google Classroom has conveyed new for teaching and learning purposes[5]. functionality like the ability to add more than one Personal non-commercial use only. PUJ copyright © 2020. All rights reserved DOI: 10.21608/puj.2020.29543.1070 99 PARASITOLOGISTS UNITED JOURNAL teacher, preparing for classes in advance and posting evaluated to determine whether this experience should study materials, assignments, and quizzes in a preset be extended to other courses or not. timing[7]. Over the past few decades, educational researchers MATERIAL AND METHODS agreed that one way to improve student success is to increase the frequency of examinations. Assessment Study type: This retrospective cohort study was is important in all forms of learning and proved to conducted retrospectively by comparing two different enhance students' motivation for learning[8]. Formative pedagogical strategies of a Medical Entomology course assessment can be very helpful to both students and for timely interventions[9]. Online administration of Theand theircontext: impact Helwan on the finalSchool scores. of Medicine, a newly formativeeducators assessments,in identifying as deficienciesa part of theand web-based allowing established public Medical School in Egypt, adopts a system-based curriculum with multi-disciplinary and availability, interactive features, effective use of integrated courses in each module. Medical Entomology images,learning immediate tools, has many and benefits,individualized including feedback, quick access and course is an integral part of a 7-week-long Basic Medical automatic scoring[9]. Additionally, freely available online websites can be utilized to develop tailored formative assessments for any learning session[10]. Meanwhile, attendingSciences module the academic for first-year year students. 2017/2018 The courseand by was a online formative assessments provide timely feedback differenttaught by method one pedagogic to those method attending to 2018/2019.first year students to learners, often in an asynchronous environment. It is also used to monitor progress and share feedback to Implementation: During the academic year both teachers and students. Formative feedback could 2017/2018 (year-1), the Medical Entomology boost student engagement, increase eagerness to learn, curriculum was taught traditionally with didactic and lead to greater achievement[11]. lectures and laboratory sessions. The lectures included the review of medically important arthropods, their In today’s learning environment, students might main characteristics, and their role in causation and be expected to look to the online medium for tools transmission of diseases; these topics were further to enhance their learning experience. An important enforced during the laboratory sessions. Lecture notes American study[12] based on studying thousands were provided at the end of each lecture. While during of articles on online education from 1996–2008, the academic year 2018/2019 (year-2), the course, with suggested that instruction combining online and face the same contents taught by the same teaching staff, to face elements, also known as blended learning, was delivered using online and face to face elements had improved outcomes for college students. Blended (blended learning). Study materials were provided with learning is an electronic learning (e-learning) approach all lectures and laboratory sessions, on a web-based that integrates the assets of both online and face-to-face Google Classroom platform. The platform also provided learning, creating meaningful interactions between a mean of communication between the students and students, teachers, and resources[13]. The introduction the tutor via the classroom stream, creating a forum of blended learning into the curriculum was reported that enabled the students to ask questions and getting immediate response from the tutor and allowed further accessible anytime and anywhere, and it fosters self- discussion with their colleagues. The platform also studyto make and teachingparticipation and oflearning the learners more[14] flexible. being had the option of privately messaging the tutor to ask or discuss any feedback concerning assignments. The The worthiness of blended learning has not been once a student sent any comment. To the best of our knowledge, until now no Egyptian tutor was notified through the application and by email Medicaladequately School explored has inintroduced the Medical it inParasitology their curricula field. Students were given optional access to the web- although online distance learning has been recently based platform; submission of assignments online; adopted by many Egyptian medical schools due to the formative assessment at the end of each lecture; and one Covid-19 pandemic with no results being published till online comprehensive formative assessment (OCFA) the date of submission of the current work. Therefore, during the course. All formative assessments, at the end we have undertaken this pilot study to observe and of lectures and comprehensive, were designed using measure the educational value and effectiveness of the Google Quiz Forms tool. The OCFA was delivered this strategy as well