Experience with forced transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Students’ cognitive performance and their perceptions of teaching

Introduction: The forced transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted medical education significantly. Methods: In this paper, the authors compare the performance of Year 1 and 2 classes of medical students who took the same courses either online (2019-2020) or face-to-face (2018-2019), and compare their evaluation of these courses. The authors also present results of three survey questions delivered to current Year 1 medical students on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of online learning and suggestions for improvement. Results: Performance and evaluation scores of Year 1 and 2 classes was similar irrespective of the mode of delivery of the course in question. 30 current (2019-2020) Year 1 students responded to the survey questions with a response rate of 25.4%. Some of the cited disadvantages had to do with technical, infrastructural and faculty know-how and support. But the more challenging limitations had to do with the process of learning and what facilitates it, the students’ ability to self-regulate and to motivate themselves, the negative impact of isolation, loss of socialisation and interaction with peers and faculty, and the almost total lack of hands-on experiences. Conclusion: Rapid transition to online learning did not affect student knowledge acquisition negatively. As such, the sudden shift to online education might not be a totally negative development and can be harnessed to drive a more progressive medical education agenda. These results are particularly important considering the several disadvantages that the students cited in relation to the online delivery of the courses