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INTRODUCTION: Online education has become standard for delivering graduate coursework in the medical and allied health professions, yet there is insufficient evidence regarding best practices and preferred methods of delivery for students in graduate clinical nutrition programs. Synchronous or realtime virtual classes vs asynchronous or static formats both have potential drawbacks and benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate graduate clinical nutrition student perceptions and learning outcomes using specific delivery modes in online instruction. METHODS: A Qualtrics™ survey was piloted, validated, and disseminated to working health professionals completing master's level study in clinical nutrition at a midwestern university. Qualitative data were imported, coded, noded, and analyzed using Nvivo v.11. Scaled data was analyzed and graphed. RESULTS: The results showed that students perceived significant benefit from synchronous online courses, in terms of interactivity, connectedness to peers and professors, and enhanced learning and accommodation of different learning styles. Evaluation of student learning outcomes from triangulated measures of the e-portfolio, oral comprehensive evaluation, and capstone experience shows improved learning with higher order synthetic capabilities in graduating students and improved professional competency in clinical nutrition and future ability to work as an effective part of the healthcare team. DISCUSSION: The synchronous online environment may provide unique opportunities to foster learning through a variety of modalities and enhance interprofessional interaction in the virtual space. This may lead to improvements in synthetic abilities of practitioners and increased efficacy as part of the healthcare team. J Allied Health 2019; 48(1):61-66.
ONLINE EDUCATION continues to grow and has become a major outlet for delivering undergraduate and graduate higher education courses. The Babson Survey Research Group in their "2015 Online Report Card: Tracking Online Education in the United States," stated that more than one-quarter of higher education students were taking at least one course on-line. In 2015, institutions that offer some form of distance education believe that their on-line offerings are critical to their long-term strategy (77.1% agreeing).1 E-platform learning has become a critical component in providing medical and graduate education.2,3
Online courses are usually offered using three different delivery formats: asynchronous, synchronous, or blended (hybrid) courses. Asynchronous formats typically include written course content, pre-recorded video or PowerPoint presentations, and on-line examinations, but typically any interaction with the instructor is through...