University of Dundee
Masters in Medical Education
This case study is from a completely online postgraduate programme for healthcare professionals who may be based anywhere in the world. Key to creating a sense of belonging on this programme has been creating clear student cohorts so that students move through a module together, and the use of small group exercises to allow the sharing of personal experiences and stories that are key to establishing a relationship of trust between students and staff.
Contributor: Dr Susie Schofield
3. Induction and orientation
Each student completes an online induction prior to the
start of their first module. This is provided in Moodle and is a self-study
resource including online activities and information which students work
through at their own pace. A video welcome from the programme leader is
included and students create a post in the discussion forum in response to some
prompt questions (see figure 1 below). A member of staff takes the time to
reply to every post, but often the students reply to each other.
Figure 1: Discussion board induction task
After initial induction, a Moodle space (‘The Hub’) is available for all students on the programme and is used for longitudinal information e.g. selecting module options, changes to programme, additional support around academic and digital generic skills.