Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24010945›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2013

The use of microblog-based case studies in a pharmacotherapy introduction class in China.

Tiansheng Wang, Fei Wang, Luwen Shi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Tiansheng WangDepartment of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China. shilu@bjmu.edu.cn.
Fei Wang
Luwen Shi

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMicroblog is a Web 2.0 technology that provides an online social networking platform for communicating and sharing information among web users. Pharmacy educators have previously used microblog to promote active engagement of students. However, there is very little research to demonstrate how to use microblogging effectively to enhance pedagogy in a blended or face-to-face classroom environment. We used the most popular microblog website in China to create a "space" within the classroom to evaluate an interactive microblogging forum for the integration of pharmacotherapy case studies. This study is aimed to determine students' attitudes toward microblog-based case studies (MBC) in a pharmacotherapy class.

methodsWe created a group on Sina Weibo, the most popular microblog website in China, to explore the possibilities of using microblog-based case discussions in pharmacy education to promote and motivate student learning. The class teaching activities began in November 2011; individual group assignments to a single case study were administered to 21 groups with a total of 126 participating pharmacy students. Each group was required to share a discussion care plan on the microblogging platform. Individual students were expected to participate in an online discussion related to at least two other group cases by posting their comments on the microblog platform. All postings were tracked and analyzed, and then a post MBC survey was administered anonymously to determine students' opinions towards MBC.

resultsA total of 126 students posted 592 messages and 112 students (89%) completed the survey. More than 80% of students agreed that MBC improved communication; nearly 70% agreed that MBC increased the amount of interaction, and over 50% found value in reading other students' messages. However, 25% students believed the collaborative learning was not effective and 22% indicated the quality of interaction was low.

conclusionsMBC appears to be well-accepted learning method to students in this study. Educators who wish to use MBC for pharmacy courses should balance the potential advantages, such as improving communication and the amount of interaction, with potential disadvantages, such as inefficient collaborative learning and the low quality of interaction.

Indexed as

BloggingDrug TherapyAttitude of Health PersonnelChinaEducation, PharmacyHumansSchools, PharmacyStudents, Pharmacy

Identifiers

PMID24010945
PMCPMC3846686

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.