Effects of video podcasting on psychomotor and cognitive performance, attitudes and study behaviour of student physical therapists

Abstract

Purpose: Multimedia is an effective tool to teach psychomotor skills to health care students. Video podcasting is a next step as educators seek methods to present psychomotor skills efficiently. The purposes of this pilot study were (1) compare the effectiveness of video podcasting to live demonstration for teaching psychomotor skills to Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students; (2) examine students’ attitudes toward podcasts and (3) examine study behaviour of DPT students. Methods: Faculty developed podcasts depicting two sets of psychomotor skills for a basic skills course. A crossover design was utilised. For skill set #1, group A received podcasts and group B received live demonstration. For skill set #2, group A received live demonstration and group B received podcasts. Results: There were no differences in exam scores between groups and study behaviour varied significantly in one instance. Students’ attitudes were discussed. Conclusions: Podcasting was as effective as live demonstration for presenting basic skills.

Keywords:

• podcast
• multimedia
• physical therapy
• live demonstration