Impact of a Spiral Learning Strategy on the Integration of Pharmacology Content in a Pre‐clerkship Osteopathic Medical
Authors: Restini Carolina , Silvestri Sabrina , Tobias Chinyere , Schwartz Janice , Armbruster Adrianna , Sadasivan Mangala , Gudakunst Jane , Tilden Sarah 
Published: May 2022

Background

In 2020, during the restrictions imposed by the COVID‐19 pandemic, the Academic and Career Advising Office from the COM at Michigan State University USA implemented a platform named On‐Target to support pre‐clerkship students navigating academic life. Based on spiral learning principles, we created didactic material (ppt) and offered it to the students through On‐Target to support the transition from Basic Principles of Medical Pharmacology in the Fall semester of 2020 to courses in the next semester (Spring‐2021). We hypothesized that this pilot educational intervention, delivered through an online platform, would be valuable to shape future integrative approaches for medical academic success. This cross‐sectional retrospective observational study aimed to evaluate the impact of pharmacology learning practiced through On‐Target from the students' perspective.

Methods

An anonymous online survey was distributed via email invitation to 1st‐year medical students in the Summer of 2021 (IRB approval: MSU‐ ID6229). The survey was organized through Qualtrics into questions related to 1) student demographics and learning styles and 2) experiences and perceptions of the didactic material integrating pharmacology with systems courses in the following semester: Neuromusculoskeletal, Endocrine, and Genitourinary (timeline, fig 1). Statistical analyses were done by Chi‐square test and Pearson correlation coefficient (CI95).

Results

Thirty‐seven students participated (54.05% female; average age: 24.5). A higher proportion was self‐reported as visual learners (83.8%, P<0.05). Auditory (18.9%) and social (10.8%) represented a significantly low proportion of learners. Regarding knowledge of On‐Target, 62.2% had never heard of it; none of those who knew about the platform were aware that it contained pharmacology content. A greater number of participants (73%, P<0.05) answered the 2nd set, Likert scale questions. Of these, 48.2% were familiar with the resources provided; 88.5% were infrequent users; and 40.7% understood the meaning of the transition material (pharmacology). Over 44% reported applying the pharmacology material in the transition to upcoming courses, while 29.6% were neutral. When asked about how the material could be improved, 40.7% stated that the transitional content in pharmacology could be better utilized if it had been presented through voice‐overs. For those who did not continue the survey, 38.5% reported being comfortable with other resources; however, 30.8% found answering survey questions too time‐consuming.

Conclusion

There is a positive correlation between the students who understood the meaning of the transitional material in pharmacology and applied the content to courses in upcoming semesters. There is a negative correlation between students self‐reporting as visual learners vs the suggestion to enhance the utility of the educational material through recording materials. A small number of students participating in this survey limits further conclusions. This limitation may have been partly caused by the online overload that students experienced during COVID‐19 restrictions.