Effect of Blended Learning on Educational Outcome of Discontinuous Undergraduate Students of Operating Room

Introduction: Blended learning has many advantages to overcome the adult learning challenges such as limitation of time, external responsibilities and family commitments. So, this study was conducted to determine the effect of blended learning on educational outcome of discontinuous undergraduate students  of operating room. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study and educational intervention that was conducted in 2018 in Alborz University of Medical Sciences. The study sample consisted of 56 discontinuous undergraduate course students of operating room were included in the study through convenience sampling. The educational intervention was conducted in the form of blended Learning and then the educational outcomes were evaluated with the variables include students' satisfaction, learning and the amount of interactive time in cyberspace to participate in the lessons. Data collection tools in the satisfaction variable was a 15 item researcher-made questionnaire, in the learning variable, a standard MCQ exam and in the interaction time variable, a checklist was developed for recording students' activities in cyberspace for questioning and answering, or express experiences. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical tests, Paired t-test, T-Test, Anova and Kendall’s and Pearson’s correlation coefficients through SPSS . Results: Based on the results, all students were satisfied with this method of teaching. The result of MCQ exam showed that there was significant difference in pre and post-tests (t= -4.81, P= 0.001) Also, the mean time of students’ interaction in cyberspace was nearly 10 hours in 12 teaching session, that is a significant time. Pearson correlation coefficient showed a significant negative relationship between the mean age and the mean hours spent in the virtual space of the class to present the task (P = 0.001) Conclusion: According to  the  positive impact of this method, it is recommended as an effective method of education for discontinuous undergraduate course students of operating room.