Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38553676›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2024

Factors affecting Saudi medical students' engagement during synchronous and asynchronous eLearning and their impacts on the students' academic achievement: a national survey.

Amal A Alghamdi, Ghada F Alyousif, Amani M AlQarni, Fatma H Amer, Taghreed O Alfadhel, Rawan N Almutairi, Shatha M Almutairi, Anwar D Almutairi, Nouf A Hakami, Kholoud Al Ghamdi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

10 authors.

Amal A AlghamdiDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. amlalghamdi@iau.edu.sa.
Ghada F AlyousifDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Amani M AlQarniDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Fatma H AmerDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Taghreed O AlfadhelCollege of Medicine, Majmaah University, Al Majma'ah, Saudi Arabia.
Rawan N AlmutairiCollege of Medicine, Qassim University, Alqassim, Saudi Arabia.
Shatha M AlmutairiCollege of Medicine, Qassim University, Alqassim, Saudi Arabia.
Anwar D AlmutairiCollege of Medicine, Qassim University, Alqassim, Saudi Arabia.
Nouf A HakamiCollege of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
Kholoud Al GhamdiDepartment of Physiology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNowadays, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, electronic learning (eLearning) has become a necessity in education. eLearning can be either synchronous, where classes are conducted in real-time, or asynchronous, where students can access the class material at any time. Student-instructor interaction has become essential to the educational process. In the literature, most studies have focused on the preferred methods of eLearning and the barriers to interaction in eLearning. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the factors that affect students' interactions during eLearning and their impacts on students' academic achievements.

methodsA national cross-sectional study was conducted among clinical and pre-clinical medical students who were attending universities in five regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using a bespoke online self-administered questionnaire covering sociodemographic features, eLearning barriers, preferences, and the impact of eLearning on students' performance and understanding.

resultsThis study involved 1371 medical students, of whom 52.37% were male and 51.13% were in their pre-clinical years of medical college. Of the participants, 59.88% (n = 821) preferred synchronous modalities of eLearning, and 33.33% (n = 457) avoided interaction during synchronous lectures. The main predictors of avoiding interaction during online lectures were being male in the clinical years of medical studies, being in a quiet atmosphere, having difficulties using the eLearning platform, having a poor internet connection, having a visual learning style, being insecure, and the presence of opposite-sex students and facilitators. In addition, 12.25% students (n = 168) reported a lower grade point average (GPA), whereas 11.96% (n = 164) reported an improved GPA after eLearning compared with in-person/onsite learning sessions. The GPA fluctuation was related to gender, personality type, learning style, interaction, and eLearning modality preference. Moreover, the students' understanding was enhanced by recorded lectures (n = 1,093, 79.72%) and supportive multimedia (n = 1,037, 75.64%), and the easy to use platform (n = 1037, 75.64%).

conclusionThe synchronous modality of eLearning was the preferred teaching method among the medical students. However, multiple individual, technical, and environmental factors affected their interaction, performance, and understanding during these sessions. Hence, future interventional research is recommended to overcome interaction barriers and enhance student performance and understanding of eLearning.

Indexed as

Academic SuccessComputer-Assisted InstructionStudents, MedicalCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMalePandemicsSaudi ArabiaBarrierEducational processeLearningInteractionMedical studentOnline lecture

Identifiers

PMID38553676
PMCPMC10981294

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.