A case study of teaching presence in virtual problem-based learning groups

Abstract

Interest in conducting problem-based learning (PBL) on-line has increased to meet student and physician schedules. Little research describes skills needed to facilitate PBL on-line. In this paper we studied teaching presence in asynchronous PBL groups. Two raters, with average inter-rater agreements of 0.80, used an existing code to measure teaching presence in 62 PBL case discussions facilitated by one instructor over five years. This instructor was selected because of consistently high teaching evaluations. Messages sent by the instructor in the on-line PBL discussion were coded into three categories: instructional design and organization, facilitating discourse and direct instruction. Instructional design indicators were most frequent averaging 22.5 (SD = 5.6)/discussion. Facilitating discourse and direct instruction were comparable, 19.5(SD = 7.4) and 19.5 (SD = 6.7), respectively. Messages and indicators of teacher presence rose across time with a decline during subsequent PBL cases with the same group.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carol S. Kamin

CAROL S. KAMIN is the Director of the Project LIVE Consortium and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is interested in how elements of PBL cases, including case modality, impact the discussion of the group as well as individual learning and professional development.

Patricia O'Sullivan

PATRICIA O'SULLIVAN, who is based at the University of California San Francisco, has collaborated with Dr Kamin to evaluate the use of video in PBL particularly as it facilitates clinical learning. She also is involved in applying design and statistical approaches to these problems.

Robin R. Deterding

ROBIN R. DETERDING is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of the Clinical Curriculum at The University of Colorado School of Medicine. She co-director of the development team of Project LIVE and facilitates virtual groups in the Pediatric Clerkship.

Monica Younger

MOnica YOunger, is an instructor at The University of Colorado School of Medicine, and supports all aspects of Project LIVE, from video and audio production to gathering data for research studies, to supporting the users of the application.

Ted Wade

TED WADE is an Assistant Professor at National Jewish Medical and Research Center. He designed and implemented the software for case authoring and presentation in Project LIVE.