Investigating the Effects of Problem-Based Learning in a Virtual Group on Collaborative Learning, Social Presence and Student Satisfaction in Surgery Department

Background: Social media have become an indispensable part of human life and influenced the medical education and professions in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in a virtual group on socialcollaborative learning, social presence and satisfaction among the medical students in surgery rotation. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a one-shot posttest-only design that was performed on 66 trainees attending the surgical wards in teaching hospitals of Mashhad Islamic Azad University from February 2018 to July 2019. A virtual Telegram group was created for the learners to share interesting or rare educational cases at different hospitals, express their views on the issues, and engage in discussions until the next morning. Demographic and CLSS (Collaborative Learning, Social Presence and Satisfaction) questionnaires were used to collect data and to measure students’ perceptions of collaborative learning, social presence and satisfaction. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20 software. Results: The mean age of participants was 28.5±7.6 years. The average student participation rate in the group was 95.25%. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between the overall scores of the three questionnaires (social presence, satisfaction, collaborative learning) (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that given the high level of participation and satisfaction among students, using social networks as a complement to education is recommended.