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Brahm Marjadi
Western Sydney University

Kashmira Dave
Western Sydney University

Glenn Mason
Western Sydney University

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Abstract

The Medicine in Context (MiC) program is the flagship community-engaged learning and teaching program at the Western Sydney University School of Medicine. MiC students attend placements at community organisations, General Practice clinics and face-to-face tutorials and lectures for two 5-week blocks. Responding to students’ lack of engagement and preference for more flexible delivery modes, a blended learning approach using the Community of Inquiry framework to guide the design has been gradually introduced since 2014. The MiC webpage was revised to simplify access to key information and resources. Five lectures were transformed into online modules and one workshop was converted into a flipped classroom. Multi-media open educational resources were added to replace some reading materials. Online “Weekly Study Guide” scaffolds, paces and aligns students’ self-directed learning with MiC learning outcomes. Moving program evaluation and some assessments to an online platform enables more timely feedback. These developments have resulted in novel, engaging learning activities. Preliminary evaluation indicates students’ greater engagement with the MiC program and deeper levels of learning indicated by increased levels of reflection and the demonstration of MiC learning outcomes being satisfied.

About the authors

 

Brahm Marjadi

Brahmaputra (Brahm) Marjadi is the Senior Lecturer in Community Engaged Learning at Western Sydney University School of Medicine. Brahm convenes the Medicine in Context program where Year 3 students (of the 5-year undergraduate MBBS curriculum) spend two blocks of 5-week placements at community services and General Practice clinics to learn about Social Determinants of Health and how health is maintained and managed outside the hospital setting. Brahm was trained as a General Practitioner in Indonesia and obtained Master of Public Health and PhD in Community Medicine from UNSW Australia. Brahm has been a lecturer in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health in Indonesia 1996, and in medicine and public health in Australia since 2006. Brahm is a mixed-methods researcher in infectious and non-communicable disease prevention and control, community engagement, medical education and research translation across cultures and in low-resource settings.

Kashmira Dave

Kashmira is a senior lecturer in medical education (blended learning) in the Medical Education Unit, School Of Medicine at Western Sydney University. Her main work in the school is to lead the team developing the curriculum mapping (Roadmap) tool. Kashmira has wide experience in the area of learning design and teaching and learning in higher education. She has taught numerous courses mainly in the area of research methodology and use of technology in education. Her PhD focused on how educational design is communicated to students and how it is interpreted by the students in a higher education context. She has particular interest in science education, research methodology and learning design.

Glenn Mason

Glenn is a member of the blended learning team in the Medical Education Unit, School Of Medicine at Western Sydney University. He is centrally involved in all aspects of blended learning at the School of Medicine from the foundation years, clinical immersion program and various postgraduate courses. His combined understanding of the practice and theoretical foundations of learning design has led to curriculum development and teaching opportunities at a tertiary level in the field of online learning design and he has also taught in the Medicine in Context program at Western Sydney University. His PhD is on online learning, adult education and type 2 diabetes.