Distance interaction to teach relationship. An approach to distance education in the Medical Degree course

Abstract

Introduction: distance education has brought to light the advantages and criticalities of online education, confirming what many scholars have been arguing for some time: the need to build a didactic system that is as integrated as possible, focused on the student and which sees technologies as resources and educational potential. The paper aims to offer some points of reflection on distance education. The experience in the degree course on the medical-patient relationship at the University of Turin will be reported.
Methods: course involved several initial design phases, the topics of which were constructed starting from the guidelines for the creation of autonomous learning objects (the minimal elements that constitute an online course). The research sample consisted of 400 students who attended this course between October and November 2020.
Tools: we used communication platforms, apps, and software to stimulate interaction. In addition, a pre- and post-course questionnaire was administered regarding the students' general experience of distance learning during the year.
Results and discussion: first part of results concerns the course design, specifically the activities carried out (interaction modalities, brainstorming activities, and the multimedia material) the second part focuses on the data about the questionnaire, in which, the issues related to technologies and the modes of teaching greatly affect the interaction between students and teachers.