Learning Design Strategies in MOOCs for Physicians' Training: A Scoping Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (10/31/22) Vol. 19, No. 21, P. 14247 Schettino, Giovanni; Capone, Vincenza

Researchers conducted a scoping literature review to assess the application and effectiveness of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in physicians' training. The authors followed the PRISMA checklist to support consistency. They evaluated MOOCs in medical education, including basic and advanced continuing professional development and university-level training, compared with other educational techniques. After searching several databases for relevant articles, the researchers included 17 studies published from 2016 to 2021. The analysis highlighted several key factors: pedagogical strategies, MOOC structure-related variables, participant-related factors and MOOCs vs. traditional courses. The studies indicated that MOOCs for physicians and other healthcare workers heavily emphasize the pedagogic approach. Articles focused on MOOC structure-related variables cited the value of pilot programs, multimodal content delivery and quantitative questionnaires. Studies of participant-related variables, meanwhile, noted that English proficiency, specialist knowledge, digital skills, previous MOOC experiences, lack of time and motivation affected MOOC outcomes. "To summarize, the findings of this review support the thesis that the MOOC model can be conceived as a viable resource for training physicians due to its flexibility in adopting a range of pedagogical frameworks and innovative teaching and learning strategies," the researchers conclude. Future research, they suggested, should investigate techniques that help to boost physician engagement, "such as the role of more extensive adoption of new social network platforms or virtual reality to pursue a twofold goal: to promote participants' engagement and to minimize the dropout phenomenon."

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