What is JBJS Clinical Classroom and how does it work?
JBJS Clinical Classroom is an adaptive learning system that observes how users learn and tailors their experience to focus on their own knowledge gaps.
Before answering each question in Clinical Classroom, learners must choose: “I know it”, “Think so”, “Unsure”, or “No idea” to describe their confidence in the answer that they selected. The adaptive algorithm looks at how the question was answered, the self-reported confidence level, and the time it took to answer the question. It then presents learning resources and probes about content not yet mastered or about which the learner is not confident. In this way, by continually directing users away from subjects in which they are proficient and toward weaker areas, it “adapts” as the user learns.
Importantly, Clinical Classroom identifies material in which learners are weak or need improvement. This directs individual learning as well as provides focus for faculty and residency directors when planning learning assessments.
Learners are also able to estimate their competence in each subspecialty and adjust it accordingly using the ‘Self-Assessment’ box.
- ‘Novice’: presents more learning resources initially to first build a foundation, followed by core knowledge probes
- ‘Competent: presents an equal amount of probes and learning resources
- ‘Expert’: presents only probes
How is JBJS Clinical Classroom different from question banks?
Question banks that ask hundreds of questions provide experience aimed at passing an exam, not mastery and reinforcement of the information for long-term retention. Question banks ask questions about material the learner already knows and does not know without any filtering or adapting. The experience here is exactly the same for every single user.
In contrast, Clinical Classroom quickly identifies each learner’s strengths and weaknesses during the test-taking process so that they can continually focus on areas that they have not mastered or about which they are uncertain. The system allows learners to see not only missed questions but also the learning objectives that they found the most challenging, helping to focus review on areas where it is needed most. Clinical Classroom also contains an automated “refresh” function to help learners retain previously learned content and relearn things they may have forgotten over time.
How are the questions in JBJS Clinical Classroom developed?
Experts with 15+ years in their respective orthopaedic subspecialty were recruited to develop learning objectives based on essential knowledge during residency and practice.
Writers then develop probes (questions) to test each learning objective, provide learning resources with supporting information for the probes, and link references for additional information. All questions and learning resources are peer-reviewed by several subspecialty content experts and the Clinical Classroom Editor before being accepted for use in Clinical Classroom. The platform is updated bi-weekly to add new learning objectives and probes, while also reviewing and removing those that are no longer current.