Prioritising topics for developing e-learning resources in healthcare curricula: A comparison between students and educators using a modified Delphi survey

Background Engaging students in the e-learning development process enhances the effective implementation of e-learning, however, students' priority on the topics for e-learning may differ from that of the educators. This study aims to compare the differences between the students and their educators in prioritising the topics in three healthcare curricula for reusable e-learning object (RLO) development. Method A modified Delphi study was conducted among students and educators from University Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Taylor's University (TU) on three undergraduate programmes. In Round 1, participants were asked to select the topics from the respective syllabi to be developed into RLOs. Priority ranking was determined by using frequencies and proportions. The first quartile of the prioritised topics was included in Round 2 survey, which the participants were asked to rate the level of priority of each topic using a 5-point Likert scale. The mean score of the topics was compared between students and educators. Result A total of 43 educators and 377 students participated in this study. For UM and TU Pharmacy, there was a mismatch in the prioritised topics between the students and educators. For UPM, both the educators and students have prioritised the same topics in both rounds. To harmonise the prioritisation of topics between students and educators for UM and TU Pharmacy, the topics with a higher mean score by both the students and educators were prioritised. Conclusion The mismatch in prioritised topics between students and educators uncovered factors that might influence the prioritisation process. This study highlighted the importance of conducting needs assessment at the beginning of eLearning resources development.

Automated summary

Engaging students in the e-learning development process enhances effective implementation, however, this study found differences in prioritising topics between students and educators in healthcare curricula. Mismatches were identified in the prioritised topics for UM and TU Pharmacy, while UPM showed alignment. Conducting needs assessment at the beginning of eLearning resources development is highlighted as important.