IHSE Meeting
(9:00 - 10:00)
Allison Odger, Postdoctoral fellow
Title TBD
(10:00 - 11:00)
Anish Arora, PhD
Dr. Anish K. Arora is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Office of Education Scholarship in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. In this position, he is leading the mixed methods evaluation of a Canada-wide continuing professional development program, which aims to advance the skills of practicing clinicians in communicating with seriously ill patients and their families. Prior to this work, Dr. Arora completed a PhD in Family Medicine and Primary Care at McGill University, where he held a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Additionally, he completed a MSc in Family Medicine specializing in Medical Education from McGill University. While at McGill, Dr. Arora led the design and preliminary validation for the Blended Learning Usability Evaluation – Questionnaire (BLUE-Q), an innovative tool which seeks to systematize program evaluation across health sciences education.
The Blended Learning Usability Evaluation Questionnaire (BLUE-Q) – Demonstrating its utility through a microlearning activity on “microaggressions”
Abstract
Background: Blended learning programs (BLPs) are educational interventions that combine synchronous and asynchronous learning methods. BLPs are becoming increasingly popular across the field of health sciences education (HSE). However, evaluations of BLPs remain few and disparate, particularly as HSE scholars have yet to widely adopt the use of standardized concepts and instruments in this regard. Interestingly, usability has been an instrumental construct in the development, evaluation, and evolution of e-learning programs. Although usability is commonly understood as the ease with which something is utilized, this conceptualization undermines the complexity and depth of this construct. Usability more accurately refers to the effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, accessibility, organization, and user experience one has when engaging with a product and/or service. Scholars have proposed that usability evaluation must take place to optimize the content of BLPs, and their synchronous and asynchronous elements within HSE programming. As such, we conducted a three-phase research program including a scoping review, qualitative investigation with international experts, and a Bayesian validation study to develop and initially validate the Blended Learning Usability Evaluation – Questionnaire (BLUE-Q). In this workshop, we seek to share our experience in developing and validating the BLUE-Q and help participants learn how to use this innovative tool for BLP evaluations in their contexts.
Structure of Workshop: The workshop will begin with an engaging microlearning activity, delivered in a blended learning format, focusing on the topic of ‘microaggressions.’ Following this, participants will have an opportunity to evaluate the usability of the microlearning activity through the BLUE-Q. Then, we will discuss why and how the BLUE-Q came to light, explore the Bayesian validation process we took, and converse on the opportunities the BLUE-Q enables vis-à-vis systematizing program evaluation across the HSE field.
Intended Outcomes: Alongside an opportunity to engage in an interactive learning program on microaggressions, participants will gain the ability to utilize the BLUE-Q for BLP evaluation. Participants will also learn about the Bayesian validation process which enables an efficient, yet rigorous, approach to adapting questionnaires for various contexts and populations.
Authors and Affiliations
Dr. Anish Kumar Arora1 (anish.arora [at] mail.mcgill.ca)
Dr. Tamara Carver3 (tamara.carver [at] mcgill.ca)
Dr. Tibor Schuster2 (tibor.schuster [at] mcgill.ca)
Dr. Catherine Jarvis2 (catherine.jarvis [at] mcgill.ca)
Dr. Michelle Elizov4 (michelle.elizov [at] mcgill.ca)
Dr. Charo Rodriguez2,3 (charo.rodriguez [at] mcgill.ca)
- Office of Education Scholarship, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
- Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
- Institute of Health Sciences Education, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
- Faculty Development Office, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada