Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, we have had to think differently about how we train our employees. There are some great examples from around the world of innovative ways to maintain development opportunities for physical therapists in their workplace, and a blended learning approach is one such example.
Let's dive deep into blended learning and think about how it can be applied in your workplace to improve your local educational opportunities.
Try Physioplus as your blended learning tool.
What is blended learning?
Blended learning is a concept that has been around since the 1960s, but the term "blended learning" was first used in the literature in the late 1990s and describes learning in which a combination of audiovisual, digital, or online is used will face learning, either in a classroom or similar setting.
There is still some disagreement about the precise definition of blended learning, but there has been a general consensus for some time. Even so, the term is often incorrectly used to describe distance learning such as e-learning courses, distance learning and MOOCs.
There are numerous different ways of conveying blended learning. Below is an information graph that describes six different types. Remember, it is the principles that determine the nature of learning – In order for it to really be mixed up, it has to be a mixture of different kinds of willingness to learn.
Blended learning in physiotherapy (BLIP)
Recently there has been some discussion about how blended learning can be adopted into the learning of undergraduate and graduate students not only in physiotherapy, but in all health disciplines. Many studies have focused on university programs, but there is also a place for blended learning in the workplace.
This is particularly true of a recent systematic review by Odegaard et al., Who compared blended learning and traditional distance learning in physical therapy education and found that blended learning is equally and in some cases more effective than traditional teaching.
Physioplus as a blended learning tool – a case study
Physioplus offers everything you need to develop your professional skills independently or as a group. For this reason, P + is the chosen platform for the Physiotherapy Association of St. Lucia (PASL). During the pandemic they used Physioplus as a blended learning tool for their members.
Each month members choose a short course and then come together to discuss the clinical implications and reflect as a group on the new knowledge. This adds an additional active learning dimension to the online learning element by reflecting and exchanging different interpretations of the new knowledge and skills together. In this way, motivation is maintained and a culture of evidence-based practice is built up in the group.
A survey of members was conducted to evaluate the new style of delivery of their training. The results are very encouraging. 80% of members want to try this approach again for their CPD meetings. For a successful active learning element, Physioplus recommends that you have a nominated person to facilitate conversations to ensure that new thoughts and paths are explored.
Why not try Physioplus for free and try out blended learning at your workplace for your next training session?
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