AUTHOR=Qiu Tingting , Lu Qiang , Luo Yan , Ling Wenwu 

TITLE=International curriculum for undergraduate sonographer education in China during the COVID-19 era: International remote teaching mode vs. domestic on-site teaching mode

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1083108

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.1083108

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background
Sichuan University West China Medical School was the first institution in China to develop undergraduate sonographer education program since 2016. This program was certificated by American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) and students are qualified for ARDMS credential verification test. In this 4-year program, international curriculum ultrasound physics and hemodynamics was set for students at the third year since 2018. This study is aimed to compare the teaching effect of international remote teaching mode and domestic on-site teaching mode of this international curriculum before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
All undergraduate sonographer students upon completing ultrasound physics and hemodynamics in the academic years 2018–2019 (30 students; before the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2020–2021 (47 students; during the COVID-19 pandemic) were included in the study. A total sample size of 77 students’ scores for this curriculum were analyzed. Independent samples t-test or Mann-Whitney test was employed to compare students’ scores before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chi-square test was used to compare students’ feedback about this curriculum through online self-administered questionnaire. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. 
Results
Total scores were comprised of four parts: in-class test, homework, mid-term and final exam score. The mean in-class test score for domestic on-site teaching mode during COVID-19 pandemic was significantly higher than that for international remote teaching mode before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there was no observed statistically significant difference for homework, mid-term, final exam and total scores between the two types of teaching mode. For questionnaire feedbacks, no significant difference was observed between the two groups for the satisfactions toward teachers, class atmosphere, teaching mode, curriculum content, exam difficulty, scores and knowledge students got. For the overall evaluation of the curriculum, 73.3% (22/30) students were very satisfied before the COVID-19 pandemic, while 44.7% (21/47) students felt very satisfied during the COVID-19 pandemic (p=0.02).
Conclusion
The general teaching effect of domestic on-site teaching mode during the COVID-19 pandemic was comparable to that of international remote teaching mode before the COVID-19 pandemic, and domestic on-site teaching mode may provide better in-class teaching effect.