Blogging in an EBP postgraduate module

Blogging to develop reflective practice among postgraduate physiotherapy students

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Categories: METHODS OF TEACHING & LEARNING; EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE Keywords: blogging, education, evidence based practice, kolb's learning cycle

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Introduction and background

Posted June 25, 2010 by Frantz, J at 12:17

What we found and what it means

Posted January 13, 2011 by Rowe, M at 15:23

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About the assignment Assignment objectives Task 1 Identify articles Task 2 Evaluate articles using tools Task 3 Write the Introduction Task 4 Write the Method section Task 5 Write the Results section Task 6 Write the Discussion Assessing quality of reviews CASP review appraisals Hierarchies of evidence How to critically read an article

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the process whereby a clinician evaluates the quality of evidence before applying it to patient management and is core to clinical decision-making. However, many practitioners struggle to integrate it into practice. Reflection has been shown to play a significant part in the development of higher order thinking skills (Higgs et al, 2004). In addition, sharing knowledge and experiences among colleagues in a social space can facilitate professional development. Learning is most effective when it happens in a social context, during which students are guided towards a higher level of understanding by a more knowledgeable other, through their Zone of Proximal Development. In other words, learning is situated within contexts and relationships, not individuals (Vygotsky, 1978; Engestrm, 1987). Online collaborative tools like blogs have been shown to help students expose their understanding of a topic, thereby allowing a facilitator to guide them towards a deeper understanding (Hardman, 2010). Blogs are also useful in that they allow students to write reflective posts, and for peers to comment on those posts (Boulos et al, 2006; Ladyshewsky et al, 2008). This study examined the use of reflective blogging to teach the process of EBP, using Kolb's experiential learning cycle as a framework.
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The reflective posts and comments were analysed qualitatively. The researchers found that at each stage of Kolb's cycle the students were able to share, give feedback, facilitate discussion and move towards self-directed learning, using the features of the blog. As students engaged with the tasks that were posted by the facilitator, they shared their experiences and challenges. This created a space for the facilitator and their peers to provide feedback and encourage discussion. As they learned more and grew confident, it became clear that they were moving towards directing their own future learning. At each stage of Kolb's cycle, students reflected on and shared their learning experiences in ways that exposed the limits of their understanding around certain concepts. This allowed the facilitator and their peers to provide feedback around those experiences in order to encourage further reflection. Through this guidance, students were assisted to develop deeper levels of understanding.

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Boulos, M.K., Maramba, I. & Wheeler, S. (2006). Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of webbased tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BioMed Central Medical Education, 6:41 Engestrm, Y. (1987). Learning by expanding: an activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit Hardman, J. (2010). The developmental impact of communicative interaction. In, Communication, culture and social change: the social psychological perspective. Hook, D., Franks, B., Bauer, M. Eds

How the study was conducted

Posted August 03, 2010 by Frantz, J at 09:56

The study was conducted during 2010 among all postgraduate physiotherapy students registered for the evidence-based practice module. Most of the students were from African countries, few had research experience, none had English as a first language, and none had ever used a blog before. The aim of the module was to help students determine the significance of research methods and results as they relate to practice. A Wordpress blog was created on a private server, and all the students in the module were registered as authors. The module facilitator created tasks within the blog, and provided guidance and links to additional information. Each of the six tasks given to the students built on the previous one, leading students through the process of identifying and evaluating evidence upon which to base their practice. Students attended a workshop to familiarise themselves with the blog. The study used an action research approach with Kolb's cycle as a framework for learning as well as evaluation. The cycle describes 4 stages of learning, including Experiential learning, Reflective observation, Abstract conceptualisation and Active Experimentation. The reflective component was emphasised and facilitated by creating a space for students to write reflective blog posts as they completed the module tasks, and to comment on each others' work. By exposing their knowledge, the facilitator could guide students to deeper levels of understanding.
Kolb's learning cycle used to structure and evaluate students' reflective learning

The need for reflection in the development of competence in the EBP module was found to be reinforced by using the blog. Students were encouraged to step out of doing and into reflecting and analysing their experiences and challenges They moved from assisted performance to independent performance by identifying gaps in their understanding and finding the answers themselves. As they moved through the tasks posted on the blog, they shared, gave feedback, facilitated each others' reflective process and moved towards self-directed learning.
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Higgs, J., Richardson, B. & Dahlgren, M. (2004). Developing practice knowledge for health professionals. Butterworth-Heinneman Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall Ladyshewsky, R. & Gardner, P. (2008). Peer assisted learning and blogging: a strategy to promote reflective practice during clinical fieldwork. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 24(3): 241-257 Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press

Conclusion and recommendations

Posted March 07, 2011 by Rowe, M at 23:19

The importance of providing active learning experiences was highlighted, as students were able to move from fact-based learning to a more abstract and deeper understanding. The use of the blog demonstrated how they shared their knowledge and experiences to guide each other through their ZPD, until they were driving their own learning. The use of a blog to facilitate reflective learning was demonstrated to be effective in enhancing student learning in the EBP module. Educators should consider the use of online collaborative tools to facilitate deeper learning experiences among physiotherapy students.
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Students were not obligated to participate and informed consent was obtained. All reflections were private and not indexed in search engines. Add a comment

Professor Jose Frantz (jfrantz@uwc.ac.za) Michael Rowe (mrowe@uwc.ac.za) Department of Physiotherapy Faculty of Community and Health Science University of the Western Cape South Africa Digital version of poster available at http://ht.ly/5hrn2 Presented at World Physical Therapy, Amsterdam, June 2011