A Review of Reviewing Itself: Improvements on DID-ACT’s Learning Unit Review Process

The DID-ACT project’s in-person September meeting in Bern, Switzerland, brought forward many interesting insights and opportunities for streamlining tasks. Aspects of effective project management in our development of a clinical reasoning curriculum were brought up a few times. Some key takeaways were small, like how to more clearly manage our folders using the feedback from the interim report. Larger topics, like tools for effectively writing blog posts and reports, were also brought up. These tools help to ensure the language of posts are at an appropriate audience level. One of our largest takeaways was how to streamline the review process for our learning units (LU) in a way that was more time-efficient and thorough.

Streamlining the curriculum review process

Our previous process for reviewing the learning units developed was to set up a small working group. Groups would be given a week or two for review, then come together to discuss our thoughts using a standardized review template. The team who developed the learning unit would then implement the necessary implementations based on feedback. Following this, there was a final review opened to the group.  We noticed a few downfalls to this method: 

1. It took many weeks to get the review done due to requiring a sync between the entire team;
2. Things slipped through the cracks upon the more scrutinized review that the Moodle implementation required; 
3. By not being as high a stakeholder as, for example, someone who was testing the learning unit themselves, reviewers were not as engaged as needed for proper scrutiny.

This third point was the experience of one of the EDU teammates when preparing to implement the Person-Centred Care learning unit for trainers.

New review process for clinical reasoning learning units

omething many of us know about preparing anything is that running through it in detail, as close to how it will be used in real life, is a key part of ensuring you are producing a quality item. This is exactly the circumstance Jennifer and Daniel found themselves in when preparing their PCC learning unit pilot. Despite having made it through the pre-described learning unit review process, tiny errors slipped through. Ideas around how to more effectively use time, adequate prep for an activity, and Moodle implementation itself were all aspects of the curriculum we could streamline before the actual pilot. The EDU team brought this experience forward to the consortium at the Bern meeting and from this fruitful discussion came the following modified review process: 

1. LU’s are to be completed in batches
2. When a working group has their LU prepared for review, they email the consortium and a review group of 2-3 people, including 2 of the authors, is formed using a Google doc sign up sheet
3. A review date is agreed on
4. At this point, the team is to review the learning unit asynchronously
5. Upon meeting synchronously, one of the authors is to proceed to run through the learning unit as if they were piloting it. The second is to take notes of their own as well as marking the reflections of the ‘learners’
6. Amendments are to be made and when completed go through a final review before being added to Moodle. 

This modified review process helps to ensure that there is a stronger stakeholder in the review, the person who has to actually teach it to their teammates. We will keep you posted on how it goes!

For any questions regarding this process, please contact us!