gms | German Medical Science

Objective: Hybrid learning, a combination of face-to-face (f2f) and online learning, is increasingly used in medical education. While it has the potential to become more prominent in the future, empirical evaluation of hybrid learning is still in its infancy [1]. A key question is whether online students in hybrid courses experience a sense of immersion similar to being in the same room as their peers [2]. This study aims to investigate the learning experiences of medical students in hybrid learning, what they find valuable, and their proposals for improvement.

Methods: At the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, a pilot hybrid course series with 68 teaching sessions were implemented from Oct till Dec 2023 (among others from the subjects “general medicine”, “emergency medicine” and “sexology”). To evaluate students’ hybrid learning experiences, we conducted an online survey that included questions on didactic, technical, interaction and immersion aspects. The questionnaire consisted of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Students’ responses were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively.

Results: Of the n=364 participants, 157 responded (43%). 29% participated f2f and 71% online. In the qualitative analysis, 70% of online participants reported that the hybrid setting enabled them to participate for various reasons: No time to commute (45%), limited time (53%), special life circumstances (e.g. care for relatives; 19%), other (8%). Both audiences evaluated the hybrid courses positively (90% “satisfied” - “very satisfied”) as well as the use of technology (82%) and the lecturers’ integration of both audiences (88%). A majority (66%) of the online students experienced immersion. In the qualitative analysis, students valued the following themes in their hybrid learning experience: “flexibility”, “interactions”, “teacher commitment”, “generally hybrid teaching”. Their proposals for improving hybrid teaching included the themes: “spatial expansion”, “sound and technology improvement”, “group work/interaction preparation” and “standardized hybrid access”.

Discussion: Teaching in a hybrid format increases markedly the number of students participating, thereby the accessibility to the intended learning experiences. While online students seem to experience hybrid learning as flexible, immersive and sufficiently interactive, group work and interaction seem to require more attention and preparation. Teacher engagement and active management of student’s interactions in both spaces seems to be important.