Is distance learning right for you?
By Paul Powers, DC

Over the past several years, state licensing boards have increasingly allowed chiropractors to meet their continuing-education requirements through distance-based learning.

Provided the distance program meets your needs, you can save travel time and money by engaging in this type of learning. But — is it right for you?

To answer this, you have what you need as a learner and the difference between the two types of distanced-based learning programs — synchronous and asynchronous programs.

YOUR LEARNING NEEDS

Adult learners choose programs that are most appropriate to them. This was emphasized in a rule change enacted by the Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners (OBCE) in 2002.

In a letter to the chiropractic profession in October 2002, the board made several key statements in discussing their new continuing-education (CE) rules, which allowed all mechanisms of delivery for continuing education.

The board stated: “The new CE rule takes into consideration that there are several unique aspects to adult education. One is that adults will typically make educational choices based on their assessment of need.

“Also, adult learning tends to be self directed with several stages: experience, observation, reflection, and then active testing in a new setting. To acknowledge this, the OBCE has expanded the ranges of sources for continuing education to the physician.”

The letter went on to say, “Part of the mission of the OBCE is to promote quality in the chiropractic profession. We feel the chiropractic profession’s continuing education rule should function as a tool to promote the quality of care delivered by chiropractic physicians. Our goal is to encourage the doctor to evaluate the quality of care they deliver and choose their educational tools accordingly.”

TWO CATEGORIES OF PROGRAMS

Assuming, then, that you know what you need in terms of content and in its delivery, let’s take a look at the two major categories of distance learning: synchronous and asynchronous.

Synchronous distance education is real-time, live, continuing education in which the instructor and learners are separated by distance.

A good example of synchronous education is teleseminars, in which learners dial into a live telephone conference call and have the ability not only to listen to the instructor, but actually to engage in interaction.

Asynchronous distance education is learner-directed. It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Online learning is an example of this type of educational opportunity.

Although asynchronous learning does not allow learners and teachers to have “live” communication, it does not preclude interaction. Most programs offer learners the ability to either e-mail the instructor and/or to utilize discussion boards.

BENEFITS OVER CLASSROOM EDUCATION

Distance learning, especially asynchronous learning, offers some benefits over traditional face-to-face programs.

• No peer pressure. In live programs (such as classrooms or even synchronous programs) learners may not ask as many questions, to peer pressure. In an asynchronous learning situation, those same learners may be more likely to ask questions via e-mail or a discussion board. They are relieved of the pressure of “feeling inadequate.”

• In-depth communication. Asynchronous learning also allows learners and instructors to engage in more in-depth communication about concepts than they could at a live seminar. They are only limited by their desire to share information and ask questions.

• No time constraints. Live seminars are also limited by time. This constraint is absent from distance-based programs, which rely on e-mail for communication.

• Doses of learning. Traditional classroom courses for chiropractic physicians are typically offered in 12 hours over two days. In this model, learners sit through six hours of lecture per day. Although it is traditional, it is not optimal.

Consider that attention often starts to drift after only 10 to 20 minutes and the average learner pays attention to the lecturer approximately 50 percent of the time. It should not be a surprise that these students commonly retain less than 20 percent of the material presented.

• Better learning. Let’s take a look at a few of the recent studies that compared distance based learning to traditional live programs to see how the distance based programs are faring educationally.

In a September 2005 article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) entitled “Comparison of the Instructional Efficacy of Internet-Based CME with Live Interactive CME Workshops,” the author concludes: “Appropriately designed, evidence-based online CME can produce objectively measured changes in behavior as well as sustained gains in knowledge that are comparable or superior to those realized from effective live activities.”

An article published in the October 2003 International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning provided a meta-analytic approach to comparing traditional and distance based education.

The researchers stated: “Eighty-six experimental and quasi-experimental studies met the established inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis (including data from over 15,000 participating students), and provided effect sizes, clearly demonstrated that in two-thirds of the cases, students taking courses by distance education outperformed their student counterparts enrolled in traditionally instructed courses.”

The authors went on to state: “We have been focusing all along on the question, ‘Is distance education suitable for all students?’ The results of this study may raise the inverse question: ‘Is face-to-face suitable for all students?’”

OPINION OF YOUR PEERS

So what opinion do chiropractors have of distance education? This was answered in a recently published article aptly titled “An Online Survey of Chiropractors’ Opinions of Continuing Education” which was published in the Journal of Chiropractic and Osteopathy.

The study reported that nearly 86 percent of respondents felt their previously completed CE courses were either somewhat or extremely satisfactory. More than 90 percent of respondents who had completed online or distance CE courses found them to be somewhat or extremely satisfactory.

Almost half the respondents indicated that they most preferred online distance learning, while 34 percent most preferred face-to-face interaction.

Taking all of the studies into consideration — as well as your own learning style, you may want to consider distance learning as a way to fulfill your continuing-education requirement.

SIDEBAR:
What if distance learning isn't an option?

Paul Powers, DC, is a practicing chiropractor and site editor of ChiroEcoCE.com, a collaboration with ChiroCredit.com, a provider of online and teleseminar chiropractic continuing education programs. He can be reached by e-mail at ChiroEducation@aol.com.