Using a template for LAMS in a medical setting

Using LAMS to create 250 hours of online content for a medical school has allowed for much reflection on the use of templates and Learning Design. Whilst a LAMS template was initially thought to provide the best pedagogical guidance necessary for the clinicians designing content, it was soon found to be too restrictive for the different ways of teaching the medical topics. The first 75 hours of content (13 case studies) were created with a wide range of teaching styles, and with little reference to the details of the original LAMS template. Analysis of common themes in the case studies showed that a higher and looser level of structure could be applied to all of the sequences as three broad themes: the clinical case; the scientific basis of the disease; and current research or ethical considerations around the topic. Concurrent with these themes was the application of three pedagogical categories that ensured each Learning Objective was adequately taught: the teaching and learning point; a concept check; and feedback. This structure was used in the creation of an eStoryboard for each case study and has been used for retrospective analysis of cases for pedagogical soundness and for planning of future content in the course.