Application, Self-assessment, and Reflection.
Self-assessment
and reflection stimulate learning by reinforcing current
knowledge or by highlighting differences between current
understanding and new information.
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Because the learner
sets the pace, online learning has great potential for encouraging
these processes.
Online pretests and posttests, with correct answers
and justification provided immediately, are one way to
accomplish this. Questions can also be embedded within
a lecture and linked to answers and explanations. Assigned
short-answer questions and essays, often completed as a
group project, are another way to facilitate self-assessment
and reflection. Online links to potentially useful resources
support each step of this process.
Patient cases and simulations encourage application
of knowledge and development of judgment and clinical
reasoning, in addition to self-assessment and reflection.
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Simulations can evolve step by step, revealing one part of
the scenario at a time and requiring the learner to make
decisions (request additional information, order a test, etc.)
or answer questions before proceeding.
Other methods to encourage reflection include learner
interaction (see “Learner interaction” below) and online
personal journals and portfolios