As part of the Learning and Teaching strategy, Imperial
College is currently running a series of ‘Talking Teaching’ seminars which
showcase innovative approaches to teaching from around the College. In May, Dr Elinor Gunning presented her work
exploring whether the use of video
in the form of vlogs could enhance student reflections. Reflection
is a key skill in medical education and is encouraged throughout the
undergraduate curriculum. Traditionally reflections
are recorded in writing, however student engagement is often low and the
content quite formulaic. Advances in
technology and social media are giving educators new options which may be more
engaging for students and reflect the College’s Learning and Teaching Strategy
which encourages both digital learning and innovation. Elinor discussed her use of vlogs and
WhatsApp to capture and share student reflections during the year 3 module ‘The
Science of Yoga and Mindfulness’. The
methods were well received by students and the module tutors, who also
contributed their own vlogs to the module’s WhatsApp group – a very interesting
experience! This new technology has the potential to
improve both student engagement and to help students to reflect more deeply,
and hence might also be useful in other courses – you saw it here first!
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