Creating a ‘choose your topic’ massive open online course: an innovative and flexible approach to delivering injury prevention education

Ibrahim NI, Bohm L, Roche JS, Stoddard SA, Quintana RM, Vetter J, Bennett J, Costello B, Carter PM, Cunningham R, Hashikawa AN. Creating a ‘choose your topic’ massive open online course: an innovative and flexible approach to delivering injury prevention education. Med Educ Online. 2021 Dec;26(1):1955646. doi: 10.1080/10872981.2021.1955646. PMID: 34282995; PMCID: PMC8293957.

Abstract

Background: A pediatric injury prevention course has not been available as a massive open online course (MOOC). Creating a comprehensive topic course is particularly challenging because the traditional, week-by-week linear curriculum design is often a barrier to learners interested in only specific topics. We created a novel, flexible course as both a ‘choose your topic’ MOOC for the public learner and a Small Private Online Course (SPOC) for medical students.

Methods: We describe creating ‘Injury Prevention for Children and Teens‘, a course of 59 video learning segments within eight modules taught by a multidisciplinary panel of 25 nationally-recognized experts. Completion tracking and course evaluations were collected.

Results: In 2.5 years, 4,822 learners from 148 countries have enrolled. Two-thirds of learners were female. Median age of learners was 31 years. For engagement, 19.3% (n = 932) of learners attempted quizzes, and 5.2% (n = 252) participated in online forum discussions. Medical professionals (n = 162) claimed an average of 13 credit hours per learner. Over 200 senior medical students have taken the SPOC.

Conclusion: Injury Prevention for Children and Teens‘ is a novel approach to injury prevention education that is broad, science-based, accessible, and not cost-prohibitive for a diverse group of global learners.

Keywords: Massive Open Online Course (MOOC); Pediatric injury prevention; Small Private Online Course (SPOC); anticipatory guidance; medical education