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Welcome to the first episode of the when did Beat coffee grab podcast Amherst Dr. Paula Barnett Ashton and each week. We will host to guest who share their ideas current trends and Innovations in blended learning for the debut episode where Dwight Howard in protest of Shabbir Marty to share his vision of blended |
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learning for the faculty of Health Sciences at wits university. Welcome professor Marty. Thank you for having me excited to be here before we get into it. I think we should share a little bit about as well as being it is professor of an allergy and a b c through and through keyholes specialities in pediatrics and |
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intensive care with its speciality in infectious diseases. He is director of the South African medical research council vaccines and infectious diseases Analytics research unit and is co-director of the African leadership Initiative for vaccinology expertise professor. Body is |
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an A-rated national Research Foundation scientist who is a multi-award winner and internationally recognised for his research on Vaccines. But today he's here talk about blended learning at the faculty to get stuck into it. I think the faculty has a lot of initiatives around blended-learning. |
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There's there's a Lawless paediatric clinical videos and there's the e-zone which obviously he is my baby that looks that active blended learning that happening in the classroom. What is your suggestion or how do you value blended learning in the faculty of Health Sciences as a way to engage with students? |
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And where do you see it going into flirting on what has been happening in the faculty. And obviously my training was in my pch program and I sort of engage with students that were in the mbbch program at what struck me. Until just |
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before covid-19 with it it appeared that the manner in which you engage with students the manner in which were delivering content the manner in which were trying to get students are engaged with knowledge and the next match compared to what it was in 1985. And that is absolutely but in |
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terms of the bigger picture seems to seems to be something that's lacking now. We living in a world that is changing exponentially by the day and that is not an exaggeration when we see what has happened. Just so since the end of last year and up until now which is GPT and a phenomenal amount |
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of knowledge has been generated in its ability to actually Innocence put knowledge that otherwise wouldn't have been available to us right in front of us at the press of a button as a fundamental changes in terms of how knowledge is being delivered and the potential to actually make Use of |
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this to sort of tools. So I think the approach that we taking an effect it comes out very nice moment in history. In fact, and I'm not exaggerating again. We need to ask ourselves how we using the best tools that are available despite all of the resource constraints. We might face are we using the best tools to be able to deliver knowledge to |
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our students in a manner which assist them in terms of being able to collect the knowledge and it's same time internalize it and then use that knowledge. And that is the challenge you faced. So Gone are the days that we need to just be delivering content is not about delivering content is a man in which container delivered which will |
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influence the ability of the students to absorb, which is really overload of content at this point in time. And so we expect our students to absorb much more and we can't fault ourselves because that is the way the world is evolving that much more knowledge has generated and consequently you need to be able to absorb more to remain 12. So there's |
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no compromising that we need to all students to remain relevant. But we need to become innovative in how we go about in passing that knowledge how we do their teaching and training and that's where the blended-learning my mind comes into being. We shouldn't fool ourselves that as a university. We do not have the breadth of expertise that's required to deliver what he thinks or |
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content on many fronts, but you've got opportunities we got opportunities that we need to Leverage of beat involving alumni or even be it actually using resources that the freely available in the public domain on internet and see how we integrate that in terms of the manner in which we deliver content as well as the type of content that we |
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actually delivered to students. So one of the initiatives that you sort of mentioned is something that started off with two pediatrician from outside and Grandpa of Cinderella and they were becoming frustrated as an example that we had two different approach to how we were training medical students, but when it take Intra bedside |
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left fundamental skills in terms of how to approach the patient so they asked himself. Where is this gap? And then they realise its units is simply not being delivered content appropriately at an early stage of the training which equips them to come to the bedside and then to go to the next step of the training so they decided well, |
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we've got all of this equipment around that you've got all of the people at the dealing with education and everything else. Why don't we have a different approach to this and it came up with I wouldn't even call it novel because there's other people that have done similar but in a different context context specific thought of seeing that |
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it will you make use of this and that they start becoming innovative in terms of how we prepare students to take the next step from a sort of the lecture theatre into the clinical space and that is now developing to sort of modules which equips students in terms of understanding how to approach operation. How to |
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examine the patient before they actually put their hands on a patient so that by the time they come to the bed so they're comfortable that you've been adequately equipped in terms of how they engage with the patient now, this is something which is practical it's not even your article is not even content and given just pick it up and in the party would |
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say we are you need to develop the skill based seeing the patient but it's unfair and the patient for someone that will equip to actually examine them to be prodding around causing discomfort. So this is obviously leveraging on its sort of technology to better prepare students to basically interface with students on the basis, which is much more kind |
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to the patients themselves. But at the same time the students also are much more comfortable in terms of what they doing give the students confidence going into a clinical environment. If even on the bus on the way to the clinical they can watch a video because they know that they likely to get this type of paediatric patient off. That way |
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they walk into the environment feeling confident and prepared and and that they they know what they're going to be doing. And as you say if I speak to patients rights as well, which is is very important solutely. Absolutely and I do we need to bring that into our lecture theatres. So as an example had the opportunity after more than 15 years of lecturing one of our |
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undergraduate classes and depart of luxury excited to class most was not me talking to them but showing him a video to sort of internalized Concepts which I was trying to get through Now does not give you that I generated it was a snippet that are generated by someone else and excellent source of peace in terms of getting students to understand how a |
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vaccine works. Now I could easily have rambled on for 1 hour about what the vaccine is, but it's not going to really settle in the mind of a student in terms of what does vaccine is actually doing so when we talk in a blended learning it's not about getting away from face-to-face face-to-face engagement remains essential absolutely an especially For university |
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cities of advertisement and even more so for the faculty of Health Sciences face-to-face engagement between the lecturers and students. It's something that we're not going to get away from and we should resist any push to just deliver content online and believe that we doing anyone Justice by doing that that is not what blended-learning it's about, but it's about integrating into our |
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lunches and using the type of tools that are available in the public domain until we actually use that as part of our lectures to basically get students excited that they actually want to come to the class and I think that's where we lacking at the moment like you just complain that students are not coming to my clothes when I asked students. Why don't you come to lecture to |
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tell me where it doesn't help us to come to lectures Wendell actually just reading from the PowerPoint slide it put up on the text, but I'm away with the same information. Probably more. I think that's very valid as I think the students learn best when they're doing and where they're at that Lyrical content |
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or whether its clinical and skills if they are actively participating in whatever the the knowledge content piece is they more likely to internalize memorize it reduces the cognitive load the concentration spends stick with the program. And I mean, |
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I think we we know that the 50-minute standard lecture where somebody stands in the front and just talks at their students is not going to get the students really engaged or thinking about that material and I did that brings me to the emergency remote online Solutions that we had during |
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the pandemic where a lot of people converted their their 50-minute letters into 50 or 55 minutes of a PowerPoint and uploaded does that that was an emergency response? I mean it was a way of Us getting at the students on the spot. Ready to transition now. |
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And as you say we need to move away from just giving the students pass of content and shifting to blended learning where the students are actively engaged in. We need to totally abandoned any habit of delivering just voice-over PowerPoint presentation to students and believe that we actually delivering content |
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because the students could get much more information and much more structured manner by going to YouTube and basically doing a search for exactly the same so that means Bab and incompletely at you correctly pointed out. It was required at an emergency manager at a point in time, but it was never the intention of The Faculty of the university product to become |
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the norm and any luxury protect believes that its main purpose is just to deliver content actually misses the point about why students a year the year to learn and to learn means that they need to be adequately taught and to be adequately thought we need to use every tool that's available to us to ensure that we actually providing Open in a |
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manner which students will become excited about the content and internalized content. So I wouldn't say that we need to transition from voice of a PowerPoint presentation that needs to be abandoned. Totally. We need to ask ourselves. What is blended learning at? How do we actually use the tools available to us to actually impart knowledge. It means |
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abandoning the types of content that are not actually going to produce a good learning outcome. And we want the students actively engaged. So if they're doing an online quiz that relates to some of the content if they're participating in in game or challenge or those |
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other things that is not the students thinking if you giving them a scenario and making them have a discussion online where they actually got a produce their own insights. I gotta use clinical reasoning it but his judgement they gotta have some argumentation. They got to be able to back out what they're saying. It's a very different kind of Into giving |
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them notes or giving them because of a Power Plate. So I'm excited about the way for just been learning but I think one of my main question is why is blended learning valuable in in health professions in terms of Raising our students for the |
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21st century world of work and why is it valuable in health sciences? You know where we going that this is something that we need our students to be equipped with you're so beautiful. I want to see different but we need to sort of all of our students to be much more critical in thought and for me when we talk of critical and thought it means |
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that we need to challenge our students and one of the ways of challenges students with the flip learning concept where we use these tools mew from dry students with his tools that are out in public domain actually get them to start engaging with the tools before they come to lecture theatre on the same subject and that is when we start getting there in the action rather than just Today that the type |
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of approach baby start getting their interactions are going but then again it goes down to the issue with the dimension is that knowledge is increasing at an exponential rate. We can keep that when I was made medical student. I was told that the half-life of knowledge was about 9 to 10 years. This was when I graduated in |
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1990. I was told that in 9 to 10 years everything that you've learnt now most of it won't be relevant. What do we see happening right now, the half-life of knowledge is shrinking to one to two months. OK that is a right and it's frightening. It means that anything that you learnt a few years ago is likely to be outdated it between the time of doing |
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the 30 of medicine and a graduating as an example. You probably need to relearn a fair amount because although progress has been made, but because you were taught anything wrong, but just simply because of the progress that was made. So when it comes to blended learning this we need to start introducing these Concepts to students in terms of how they need to engage with technology house. I need to engage with |
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material that would otherwise not be provided to them on the table. But that is still available to them for the lead in a public domain. So don't sort of Engagement and it's really about ensuring that our students are trained appropriately and remained relevant to the 21st century and remain competitive at international level. And those |
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are the challenges that we face in the only way we can do it. We can't do it just by having lecturer to the only material online. We can't do it without the student starting to take responsibility for their own learning and that also critical component. I think that raises a very important aspect because as you |
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said knowledge is everywhere and they have access to knowledge in the moment even at the bedside or when they come across a patient that they've never seen this diagnostic profile or combination of diagnosis in in a single patient having access to information and knowing how to use it knowing how Validate that |
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this information is current that it is the the best practice or evidence-based and they they are able to critically review in a in a short time span that allows them to act and apply in the moment. And I think that is a skill that students need |
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to learn. It doesn't come naturally but I do think I understand what is valid information and how to get your fingertips on the current evidence is is important absolutely what you talking about. What's going to be the future and other faculty part of what we initiated when I |
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started the game with a revision of the curriculum and it's important for the correct number division to take place not just content but also about what exactly is it that we going to be Israeli to speak to content. What is it that we going to be teaching students to understand 84 any medic Medical curriculum? Any cricket in any |
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of the Health Sciences field not to include a i and use of AI as part of practice basically means that we not training students for the 21st century when we talk of the type of scenario that you talked about a number of tools that have already been to search change ppt. The other two that have now been |
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designed specifically for healthcare to the point that it would embarrass any professor in terms of being able to come up with a differential diagnosis with diagnostic play and water management plan B not do that to that are already out there in the public domain, right and it's our responsibility to ensure that our students |
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are equipped to know how to use as tools and use it responsibly. It's not that you're going to believe everything that you see or read, especially with that of misinformation and disinformation. We need to be careful, but we need to Guide Our students as to which tools are appropriate and how do we use those to responsibly in the interest of Patience and I |
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think inches or the patience is a key Factor because by using good diagnostic tools that are starting to emerge you are able to diagnose a patient for quicker based on the clinical let you know the lab tests and everything the likelihood have been profiling in a particular way which means that you actually get access to more |
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patients have access the Healthcare system because the processes are more efficient and I mean, I think I think blended-learning is the starting point of planting the seeds in a undergraduate but it really is about how you use the technology and how you build it into |
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your health care practices you merge as a as a graduate. So is there anything else you'd like to bring up before we close? I mean that's what I'm really excited about is the people that we have in the faculty scientist the success of our sort of Approaching now |
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engage with students are we deliver content are we get students excited really depends on the stuff in the faculty and people like yourself and others. I think that really is exciting that we have people that are passionate about wanting to do what's in the best interest of the students. I didn't have the part that we didn't really chat about it when it comes to blended learning and |
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bring allowing students access to material at their own leisure is at it also brings about some level of equity in terms of fear of learning abilities on a part of students not all students equally equipment Gumtree University and by making to sort of materials available at the convenience of |
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the students obviously also assesses students in terms of ensuring success across the sort of social economic divide and I think that's another important component that we need to keep in mind. And again, it also speaks about how we use blended learning to actually assist of students that a mum or disadvantage when they come into our universe. Environment compared |
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to the student that granted the privilege of going to a battery source school such thing as a number of other dimensions the Equity part of what blended learning officer said something that we can talk to it now, but the end of the day, like I said success of this program depends on our stuff and company said in the faculty, we getting the right people in place |
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to take us to where we should be able faculty in assisting our students to be successful. I'm very excited about the way forward. I really am but I think in Closet, thank you so much. Love Marty for being our first gift and it's been really insightful to have a discussion with you today. Thank you very much enjoyed |
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it. And that was for blended learning in the faculty. We hope you've enjoyed listening to this episode and look forward to having more conversations with you next week. |
