Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash

Resource Structure Description

The orientation to EHRs learning resource is based on the Constructivism theory of learning – where learners make meaning and interpretations through personal experiences (James, 2020) – and the open pedagogy paradigm – where learners are invited to be co-creators of information rather than simple consumers (University of Texas Arlington, 2020). To achieve the active learner engagement required in both of these instructional design approaches, the resource uses a plethora of multimedia – such as video clips, online reading resources, interactive quizzes, web-based games, hyperlinks to sourced materials, and online forums. These materials are all open educational resources, in keeping with our open pedagogy paradigm, and are utilized to stimulate interest in the subject matter and to provide a means for our learners to develop personal experiences as they build mental models of an otherwise unfamiliar topic.

Overall, the general structure of the resource is as follows:

  • Pre-Module Game
  • 5 EHR Orientation Training Modules
  • Concluding Training Activity

Resource Structure Rationale

The decision to develop a resource based on the Constructivism theory of learning and the open pedagogical paradigm is due to our focus on Merrill’s (2018) first principles of instruction and the need to address the ongoing discrepancies in student access to technology. Starting with Merrill’s first principles of instruction,  it states that instruction is most effective when learners are able to leverage personal experiences, apply newly gained knowledge/skills in the appropriate context, and continually build and develop their mental models of these skills/ knowledge (Merrill, 2018). As Constructivisim is a theory that equates learning with the creation of meaning from experience ( Ertmer & Newby, 2018), our focus on helping learners utilize both preexisting and new experiences of EHRs and healthcare as a building block for learning makes Constructivism a suitable learning theory candidate for our resource.

Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction

Activation – learning is promoted when learners can activate a mental model of prior knowledge as the basis for the development of new skills (Merrill, 2018)

Demonstration – learning is promoted when learners can observe a demonstration of skills to be learned from an instructor (Merrill, 2018)

Application – learning is promoted when learners are able to apply newly acquired knowledge/skills through actually performing a task or solving a problem (Merrill, 2018)

Integration – learning is promoted when learners are able to share, reflect, and/or defend work via peer-collaboration and critique (Merrill, 2018)

 

While we are living in a technologically-advanced era, accessibility is an issue that is often faced and unaddressed. This results in large discrepancies in equality and can be seen in areas such as education and healthcare (e.g. Internet connectivity for Telehealth in rural First Nations communities is next to non-existent despite the technology being extremely common in urban areas). Through the use of open education resources (OER), our resource aims to contribute to the narrowing of this gap in educational inequality as we believe healthcare education – in this case the knowledge of how to better manage one’s healthcare through HIT – is a fundamental right.

In addition to addressing the issue of accessibility, the open pedagogy paradigm was chosen for its focus on learners as co-creators of information as opposed to passive consumers of it (University of Texas Arlington, 2020). As the topic of EHRs can be abstract and appearing irrelevant if learners are not active users of the system (e.g. healthcare providers), the resource makes use of a variety of interactive activities and informative resources (e.g. interactive learning games and links to informative resources such as Canada Health Infoway and HIMConnect) to aid in the learning process. However, as our ultimate goal is not only to have learners understand the role of EHRs in modern medicine but to have them reflect on how these technologies can be incorporated into the management of their own healthcare and contribute to a growing public patient knowledge base (i.e. an EHR peer support group), resource activities need to be designed to be conducive of community building/ the sharing of the “instructor” role. Therefore, the open pedagogy paradigm was chosen as the design approach of choice due to this exact focus on learner empowerment.