Investigating the use and perceived effectiveness of a case-based e-learning tool in a second-year clinical medicine course at the Ontario Veterinary College

Abstract

Exposure to real-life clinical cases has been considered as the optimal manner of achieving deep learning in medical education, yet the availability of teaching cases and standardizing case exposure poses a challenge. Case-based e-learning (CBEL) has been considered a promising alternative to address these hurdles in many medical education programs, however the use and exploration of CBEL in veterinary medical education has been limited. The overall goal of this thesis was to gain insight into veterinary students’ perceptions of the use and effectiveness of a CBEL tool in a second-year clinical medicine course at the Ontario Veterinary College. Specifically, we explored changes in veterinary students’ perceived knowledge and skills, learning behaviour, and attitudes when using a CBEL tool. The results from this study indicate that CBEL may be a viable learning modality and encourages further exploration of the effectiveness and use of CBEL in veterinary medical education.