Synchronous Online Collaboration Using Google Doc to Promote Clinical Reasoning in Entry-Level Physical Therapy Students
Purpose:
As more entry-level physical therapy programs move to a hybrid model of delivery, it is important for faculty to facilitate small group collaboration synchronously, use a common online application in a unique manner, and promote higher-order thinking in an online setting. The purpose of this special interest report is to describe how the community of inquiry framework can guide the creative consideration of a commonly used tool, such as Google Doc, in a new way to facilitate higher-order thinking while promoting collaboration and clinical reasoning in entry-level physical therapy students.
Description:
Clinical reasoning is the thinking and decision-making process that determines optimal patient care. It is a skill that is required of entry-level physical therapists as soon as they enter the clinical setting and treating patients. Clinical reasoning is a complex phenomenon that is context specific and requires both cognition and metacognition. Metacognitive experiences occur during events that require highly conscious thinking. These higher-order thinking skills must be developed in entry-level physical therapy students; as more educational programs start to include online engagement, it is essential for faculty to be able to facilitate clinical reasoning and higher-order thinking in the online environment. The community of inquiry postulates that high quality online educational experiences should include the cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. This framework can be used to guide the faculty member’s online engagement to develop this skill set in students.
Faculty can promote highly conscious thinking in an online environment using common tools in a creative way. During a synchronous online session using a meeting tool such as Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate; the faculty can divide students into break out groups. The students are assigned to groups to work on a previously uploaded Google Doc. Each group completes different parts of a document that has been uploaded to Google Doc. The document can include case application or essay questions that require higher-order thinking. The faculty monitors the Google Doc in real time to add comments and questions for students to reflect on as they collaborate on the answers. The real-time interaction of the faculty member can facilitate the cognitive and teaching presence. Upon completion of the document, the faculty will bring the groups back together as one large synchronous group to debrief and summarize. Both the small group interaction and the large group debrief can enable the social presence aspect of the community of inquiry framework.
Summary of Use:
Google Doc is traditionally used to collaborate and share ideas in an asynchronous manner. However, with some inventive consideration, it can be used to facilitate collaboration during synchronous online meetings with students. Not only can it facilitate synchronous collaboration, it can be used to facilitate clinical reasoning and higher-order thinking skills uniquely. Implementing this tactic in a hybrid, foundational musculoskeletal course resulted in a 13 percent increase on the final exam grade when comparing two cohorts.
Importance to Members:
Online coursework is more prevalent in all levels of higher education. It can be challenging to promote collaboration amongst students in an online environment, especially synchronously with instructor facilitation. Another challenge in the online classroom is engaging students in higher-order thinking, as identified in Bloom’s taxonomy. Using a commonly available online tool in a new way can help faculty promote collaboration and higher-order thinking skills in the online classroom.