Based on the Bologna Process Implementation Report, it was confirmed that blended learning is most common in European universities. The trend of higher education towards e-learning, and especially towards blended learning, was already visible in 2014, when the EUA survey showed that 91% of institutions offered blended learning. Metacognitive problem-based (MCPB) modules are one of the most modern models for improving blended learning. WBC HEIs have also entered the process of transforming the learning model through e-learning, which was further accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the situation during the pandemic further brought to the surface the problems in the implementation of blended learning in WBC HEIs and indicated the need for its significant improvement.
The project is clearly designed to build and improve the capacity of higher education institutions. The planned capacity development should result in achieving the general goal of the project (improving the education of doctors in WBC HEIs in accordance with societal needs) through the achievement of specific project goals: (1) Enable students to use conceptual, procedural and metacognitive knowledge in order to solve real problems, by implementing a new learning model and (2) Develop the capacity of WBC HEIs to further enhance blended learning through collaboration with and cooperation with EU universities. The project team believes that the right way to achieve the set goals is the implementation of a new learning model that will significantly improve the existing model in WBC HEIs and result in graduates who will use the knowledge acquired during their studies in accordance with the needs of their work in solving practical problems.
Project activities are designed in 5 work packages (WP). In accordance with the rules of the call and the application instructions, all activities related to project management (including coordination, evaluation, reporting, etc.) are grouped in WP1 which will last from 1 to the last (36) month of the project. This package monitors and passes through all activities in other work packages, creating conditions for their successful implementation (including the procurement of necessary equipment). Within WP1, the project structure is established and the rules of project organization and management are established. This includes signing all necessary agreements between the stakeholders in the project implementation. A website is being launched which, in addition to providing the public with the work on the project, will also have a role in disseminating the results, ensuring the visibility of the project, increasing the impact of the project, communication of participants, etc. WP1 will include a complete process of control and evaluation of project activities (quality control, monitoring, evaluation) on the basis of which transitional reports will be made as well as the final project report.
Creating conditions for the application of MCPB modules in WBC HEIs, within WP2, begins with an analysis of the conditions for the implementation of MCPB modules that will be implemented: searching data on HEIs sites, searching bibliographic databases, reviewing curricula, reviewing existing equipment and checking current staff training for the application of blended learning. By analysing the conditions, WBC HEIs gain insight into their current capacities and the directions in which these capacities need to be developed in order for the implementation of the new learning model to be possible. This refers to the capacities of the staff as well as to the technical IT capacities.
As WBC HEIs are not able to independently develop the desired models of blended learning, it is necessary to implement the transfer of knowledge from EU HEIs that already apply advanced learning models that contain MCPB modules. Knowledge transfer is carried out in two steps. In the first step, EU HEIs staff will transfer knowledge to some of the teaching staff and administrative and technical staff of WBC HEIs through the training of trainers, who will, in the second step, spread the knowledge to other teaching staff within their WBC HEIs. In order for the teaching and administrative-technical staff of WBC HEIs to meet the requirements necessary for the implementation of the new learning model, the project activities provide for three visits to EU HEIs during which trainings of teaching staff and administrative-technical staff of WBC HEIs (coach training) will be conducted. The partner EU HEIs are already using the new educational models in the education of their students, and each of them has excelled in a certain field of medical sciences and courses. The trainings are arranged in such a way that the training of trainers for a specific field of medicine is conducted in the EU HEI that has reached an adequate level of application of new learning models in that medical field. The first training will be implemented in UoB. This training will cover two segments and will differ from the others because in addition to the training of teaching staff will also include training of administrative and technical staff. The training of teaching staff trainers in UoB will be conducted in the field of Preventive Medicine and Medical Statistics. Training of trainers for administrative and technical staff will cover all segments of the implementation of the teaching process with MCPB modules that require monitoring and support from administrative and technical staff. The second training of trainers will be conducted in MUI. In this HEI training of trainers (teaching staff) WBC HEIs will be conducted in the field of application of new learning models in basic medical fields and in certain clinical fields. A special part of the training will be conducted at the University Clinic of Anaesthesiology and Emergency Medicine in Innsbruck. This institution strongly supports the implementation of this project. The third training of trainers will be organized in UoB. The application of new learning models in second part of the clinical fields of medicine will be especially discussed at this university. Trainers, who have acquired EU HEIs knowledge about the development and application of a new learning model, conduct training within their WBC HEIs. Thus, a further transfer of knowledge to all staff within the WBC HEIs, which is necessary for the implementation of the MCPB module as a new learning model, is achieved.
Upon completion of both steps in the knowledge transfer process, WBC HEIs teaching staff will have the necessary knowledge to develop and implement a new learning model and will be able to train other teaching staff at WBC HEIs. Administrative and technical staff will be able to independently monitor the teaching process with the new learning model and give it the necessary support, as well as transfer this knowledge to other administrative and technical staff at WBC HEIs. The administrative and technical staff of WBC HEIs will be trained to monitor the requirements of the teaching process after the implementation of the new learning model in accordance with the requirements that are different from the existing educational model.
The procurement of equipment necessary for WBC HEIs to implement the new learning model will be carried out in parallel with the knowledge transfer process. Between WBC HEIs members of the project team, harmonization of conditions for the implementation of the new learning model will be carried out, which will include the fulfilment of the necessary staff and technical capacities. As part of the harmonization, each of the WBC HEIs, in accordance with its legal framework, will initiate a procedure to amend the selected curricula in the direction of integrating blended learning through the MCPB module into their curricula.
After the completion of knowledge transfer, procurement of necessary equipment, and harmonization of conditions between WBC HEIs for the implementation of a new learning model, the development and implementation of MCPB modules in WP3 will be conducted. After the training, the teaching staff of selected courses in WBC HEIs will be trained to create conceptual solutions based on which will further develop MCPB modules.
MCPB modules will be designed as a supplement to theoretical and practical teaching and will be implemented within the existing lectures in medical sciences. Within the MCPB module, after the text in which the teacher (tutor in classical problem-based learning) sets the problem and the research goal, each of the successive steps will list guided questions that are adapted to the way of solving the problem. Guided questions will consist of: interactively designed questions with a list of offered answers or boxes for typing answers. By answering the guided questions, the student, step by step, will see what are the key components that need to be clarified, and according to the logical order of the questions, how to learn to solve the problem. The questions will be designed to include this problem-solving step and direct the student to the next step through phases: problem identification, hypothesis setting, selection and application of an adequate solution model, synthesis of existing knowledge to create new knowledge, which leads to generating conclusions through the outcome evaluation process. The above structure of the MCBP module will allow students to connect theory and practice, synthesize existing and create new knowledge, and show how to acquire knowledge through conceptual understanding. The module will contain metacognitive characteristics such as planning, management and review of what has been learned.
Medical professionals have the knowledge to design MCPB modules in accordance with the needs of the teaching process. Also, after the training process, they will acquire the knowledge to use MCPB modules independently during learning. However, there is a huge distance between ideas and their use within the MCPB module. That is why there is a needs to involvement specialized persons for the development of software solution, primary to the segments of the project it is within WP3. Specialized staff of the partner UBISRS with knowledge in the field of programming and design within digital technologies will carry out to integrate the conceptual solutions provided by WBC HEIs teachers into MCPB modules. Trained developers with knowledge of PHP, XHTML, CSS and Javascript will realise modify and expand the online platform for e-learning and software customization for implementation in MCPB modules. These experts will convert the ideas of the teaching staff and adapt them for placement in MCPB modules. Also, as the current capacity of learning platforms in WBC HEIs cannot fully support the functioning of all implemented solutions within the MCPB module, these individuals will be obliged to improve platforms in terms of IT and harmonize the operation of MCPB modules within the platforms so that elements of the new model learning based on innovation and creativity can work smoothly. Thus, the key aspects of the digital transformation of the teaching process will be implemented.
After combining conceptual, programming and design solutions into the content of the MCPB module, and as the technical and IT conditions for that have already been provided, the implementation of the MCPB module in blended learning courses is approached in accordance with the curriculum. MCPB modules are implemented successively in accordance with the dynamics of development, as well as in accordance with the plan of selected courses. Module implementation is a process that lasts from the moment of setting up the first MCPB module in the first year, until the installation of the last MCPB module in the last year. This means that the use of MCPB modules in teaching will take place step by step, so data will also be generated to monitor the primary and secondary outcomes of their use.
The application of the new learning model in WBC HEIs begins with the implementation of the MCPB module. In order to monitor the impact of MCPB modules on the educational process in WBC HEIs and enable their further improvement, it is necessary to analyse the results of their use in WP4. For the purposes of the analysis, a database will be created in which all data on primary and secondary outcomes will be entered. The collected data will be used to assess the success of the implementation of the new learning model, and thus for the needs of further management of project actions. Each WBC HEIs is required to supplement outcome data and predictors for each of the courses in which the MCPB modules are implemented in order to monitor formative evaluations and do a summative evaluation. The results of the formative evaluations will be used to upgrade the applied modules and correct any errors. Also, the data from the database will be used for the preparation and publication of scientific papers on the importance of the application of the MCPB module as an innovative model of learning within the medical sciences. This will further increase the visibility and impact of this project, as well as the sustainability of its results. In the data analysis, a special place will be given to the partner Association for Biomedical Informatics and Statistics (UBISRS), which, as an independent societal stakeholders. stakeholder, will participate in the analysis of project results and assessment of societal benefits arising from this project. The observations of this partner will be an integral part of the Project final document with recommendations.
All data generated during the use of the MCPB module in the teaching process will be used to strengthen the project capacity through impact and dissemination of its results (WP5).
As MCPB modules are a new concept of learning, there is a need for continuous confirmation of their application in the process of acquiring knowledge. By publishing the results of the project in scientific journals and at the conference, it will show that the results of the project have been accepted in the scientific and professional community. In this way, additional dissemination is performed, visibility is increased and the impact of the project is strengthened.
The adoption of improved curricula of selected courses in WBC HEIs which will incorporate the achievements of the new learning model introduced by the project into medical education at WBC HEIs will be the key element of the impact of this project. This will contribute to the sustainability of the project results because new generations of students will attend classes according to the new model. Also, this will contribute to the spread of the project idea in two ways: (1) the results of selected courses in which MCPB modules have been implemented during the project will influence other courses within WBC HEIs to adopt a new learning model. (2) Better output of WBC HEIs graduates who have attended the new learning model will also influence other HEBs in the WBC to implement the new learning model in the future.
In the area of Montenegro, data from the database will be submitted to IPHM as a sector representative institution, in order to strengthen the capacity for sustainability of project results, because this partner will have the opportunity to monitor the outputs of students educated by the presented model.
Based on the results of the application of the MCPB module within this project, an analysis of the potential of the application of the MCPB module in the future in various segments of higher education will be conducted. This applies to the application in the field of medicine and beyond. The basis for assessing the spread of MCPB modules in other areas of education, outside of medicine, will be the results of their application in IBC-M courses, in line with other specific objectives of this project.
Conclusions and recommendations on the capacity to develop the application of the MCPB module will be implemented in the Final Project Document with guidelines and proposals for implementation. This document will summarize the results of the projects and clearly define the characteristics of the application of the MCPB module and the recommendations of the project team. The final project document with guidelines and proposals will be provided to all HEIs and relevant institutions in the WBC. This document will be the basis for further expansion of the new learning model using MCPB modules in the teaching processes of different HEIs.
As an integral part of the concept and methodology, we attach the logical framework matrix (LMF) to the application form).