Crammer's Corner
GP, The Fern Hill Practice, Faringdon and RCGP Curriculum Development Fellow
E-mail: ben.riley{at}nhs.net
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Abstract |
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 TOP Abstract Questions to ask when...(1). Is the resource...(2). What kind of...(3). How good is...(4). What is it... |
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This issue of Crammer's Corner considers how to quickly evaluate the quality of an educational resource being used to support GP training.
An important aspect of general practice training is learning to become a self-directed adult learner. This requires you to identify not only your learning needs and plan your learning but also to develop the skills necessary to form an opinion on the suitability of the educational resources that you use.
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Questions to ask when evaluating a resource |
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TOPAbstractQuestions to ask when...(1). Is the resource...(2). What kind of...(3). How good is...(4). What is it... |
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Evaluating the quality of an educational resource, such as a textbook or a website, does not need to be a laborious task—it can be done in a couple of minutes. There are four basic questions to ask yourself when considering whether an educational resource is suitable to meet your needs.
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(1). Is the resource relevant to my needs? |
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TOPAbstractQuestions to ask when...(1). Is the resource...(2). What kind of...(3). How good is...(4). What is it... |
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The first step is to work out whether an educational resource is relevant to your needs or not; if not, there is little point in spending time considering the aspects that many learners tend to focus on, such as the accuracy of the content.
Aim
It is crucial to gain a quick understanding of the aims of an educational resource from the outset, in order to determine if these are relevant to your individual needs. Some resources aim to serve several purposes (such as the RCGP ePortfolio, which is a record of learning and an assessment tool), whereas others aim fill a very specific niche—The British National Formulary for Children is a good example of this.
Audience
Obviously, the most relevant type of educational resource is one that is deliberately designed for GPs in training (like InnovAiT!). However, it is often the case that a resource is intended for a broad audience in order to make it more cost effective for the publisher to produce. It is common for lots of resources to be aimed generically at ‘doctors’ or ‘health-care professionals’, especially resources that are freely available or are meant to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. These resources can be very useful, but they often have to compromise and the context of the learning may not be appropriate—this is particularly so for resources on clinical management which do not recognize the differences in context between primary and secondary care.
Scope
Is the coverage of the resource suitably broad and deep for general practice? A GP is expected to have a working knowledge of a wide range of medical and surgical conditions, but must also understand how these conditions interrelate and the concepts of co-morbidity. For this reason, a resource that focuses on a very specific topic in isolation may not be sufficient on its own to help you to master the competencies required of a GP.
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(2). What kind of resource is it? |
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TOPAbstractQuestions to ask when...(1). Is the resource...(2). What kind of...(3). How good is...(4). What is it... |
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Educational resources can be broadly split into three main types: ‘information resources’, ‘learning resources’ and ‘learning tools’. It is important to identify the right type of resource in order to meet your educational needs.
Information resources
Information resources include most websites and blogs, medical encyclopaedias, news channels and many medical textbooks and DVDs. Information resources provide useful information on a topic or issue but have no predetermined learning objectives—in other words, they have not been created with the intention of helping the user to master any particular educational outcomes but are presented as sources of information. What you do with the information is entirely up to you as the learner. This means that an information resource can be accessed on a number of occasions to address different learning needs.
Learning resources
Learning resources include eLearning sessions, workshops and teaching packs. Learning resources are deliberately designed to help the learner to acquire predefined items of knowledge or skill. They contain information content which has been carefully selected to meet a number of educational objectives, which are usually identified in the resource itself. Learning resources can be very effective if the objectives of the resource are in alignment with your learning needs, but they can feel highly irrelevant if there is a mismatch. Also, looking up random items of information in a learning resource can be frustrating as they are not designed for this purpose.
Learning tools
Learning tools are educational devices that facilitate part of the adult learning process. Often they do not contain much factual information content. Examples of learning tools include the ePortfolio, confidence rating scales, reflective diaries and personal development plans.
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(3). How good is the content? |
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TOPAbstractQuestions to ask when...(1). Is the resource...(2). What kind of...(3). How good is...(4). What is it... |
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One of the aspects that doctors tend to focus on most of all when evaluating an educational resource is the quality of the content. However, content can be assessed by several different parameters.
Authority
A high-quality resource should always clearly state the details of the authors and editors. It is worth taking a moment to look at the author's background. Does he or she have sufficient expertise to enable them to write with authority and relevance on a topic? Expertise does not have to be academic—it can be educational or clinical, and some of the most effective educational resources can be produced by authors with modest academic or clinical backgrounds who are skilled at conveying information. Context is also important—is the author based in primary or secondary care, and which geographical location do they work in?
Accuracy
As you use an educational resource, you will gain an impression of whether the content is in keeping with accepted medical opinion. More objectively, high-quality resources should always be referenced to published evidence. Generally speaking, the highest quality clinical resources are referenced to evidence-based guidelines from recognized public bodies, such as NICE and SIGN.
Currency
It is important to check when the resource was created or last updated. It is inevitable that books start to go out of date from the moment they are published, but even some web-based resources may now be over 10 years old! Some online resources, such as eLearning websites, do not give a specific date for when each piece of content was created, but these sites should always give details of the policy for reviewing and updating their content.
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(4). What is it like to use? |
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TOPAbstractQuestions to ask when...(1). Is the resource...(2). What kind of...(3). How good is...(4). What is it... |
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The final stage of self-directed learning is reflecting on and evaluating your learning.
Accessibility
A resource that contains a lot of high-quality information is of little use if it is impossible to access. Accessibility does not only involve finding the resource itself, but also being able to quickly locate the information within it, and the clarity with which the information is presented. Also, being able to find your way around the resource (navigation) is equally important.
Effectiveness
After using an educational resource, it is worth spending a moment considering whether the resource succeeded in meeting your educational objectives. If not, why not—was it a bad resource or were you using it for the wrong purpose? The best resources are engaging and enjoyable to use, so learning happens without you even realizing it. Was the resource fun or interesting?
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