A Study on the Construction of a Medical PADD Class Virtual Teaching and Research Community Based on "Integrated Research and Training"

For decades, the heart of university teaching in China has been the local teaching and research section, a small group of instructors from the same department who meet to discuss their classes. While these groups have existed for over seventy years, they often struggle with the same limitations as any physical gathering: they are bound by time and place, and their discussions can sometimes feel like formalities rather than genuine exchanges of ideas. In the information age, educators have begun to ask how these groups might evolve. The answer lies in the concept of a "virtual teaching and research community," a digital space where teachers from different schools and regions can meet without leaving their offices. This approach relies on the idea that professional growth happens best when teachers collaborate, reflect on their actual classroom experiences, and solve problems together in real time. The question for researchers became whether such a digital community could do more than just host meetings; could it actually change how teachers teach and help them improve their students' learning?

A team of researchers from several medical universities in China set out to answer this by building a specific type of online community focused on a teaching method called the PADD Class. This method, which stands for Presentation, Assimilation, Discussion, and Dialogue, breaks a lesson into four distinct parts: the teacher presents a concept, students absorb it on their own, the group discusses it, and finally, the teacher and students engage in a deeper conversation. The researchers wanted to see if they could create a "virtual community" where medical teachers could not only learn about this method but also practice it and study its effects together. They designed a program that blended training with actual research, creating a cycle where teachers learned the theory, tried it in their own classrooms, and then came back to the online group to share what worked and what did not.

The study involved fifty-two medical teachers from various disciplines, including traditional Chinese medicine, nursing, and clinical subjects. These participants joined a fourteen-week program that was split into three main phases: training, practice, and research. In the first two weeks, the teachers attended online sessions led by the creator of the PADD Class model, learning the core concepts and how to run the four-step lessons. For the next twelve weeks, the teachers went back to their own classrooms to try out what they had learned. They started with short, ten-minute segments of the new teaching style and gradually worked up to teaching entire courses using the method. Throughout this time, they recorded their lessons and submitted written reflections on their experiences.

The third phase of the program brought the group back together online for a series of research discussions. These sessions were structured around the same four-step PADD model. A teacher would present a specific challenge or success from their classroom, the group would study the material independently, break into smaller groups to discuss the issue, and then come back together for a full dialogue. This process allowed the teachers to move beyond simple observation and engage in deep, collaborative problem-solving. The researchers used video conferencing software and a dedicated teaching platform to support these interactions, ensuring that every step of the process was recorded and could be reviewed later.

To understand if this approach actually worked, the researchers asked the participating teachers to fill out surveys at the end of the program and also observed their teaching activities directly. The results were encouraging. The vast majority of the teachers reported that the program helped them solve real problems they faced in their classrooms. When asked if the model was useful, the average rating was very high, with most teachers saying it was either very helpful or quite helpful. More than eighty-five percent of the participants said they were willing to continue with this type of community in the future. The teachers also noted that their own classroom designs had improved significantly, and they felt more confident in how they organized discussions and assigned independent learning tasks.

The observations confirmed what the surveys suggested. In one notable case observed during the autumn semester of 2023, a lead teacher of Exercise Physiology used the PADD model to redesign a lesson on "Spinal Muscles." Through multiple rounds of iteration, this teacher increased classroom interaction rates from 32% to 78%, and the number of students' after-class questions significantly increased. Additionally, specific case studies of individual participants highlighted tangible improvements. For instance, Participant A, a teacher of acupuncture and moxibustion, saw student final exam scores rise by an average of 8.3 points after introducing the four-step PADD structure and reflective assignments. Another teacher, who had previously found research meetings to be passive affairs of just listening and taking notes, found that the interactive nature of this community led to a complete redesign of their lesson plans. This teacher won a university-level teaching competition after transforming abstract historical concepts into engaging, case-driven lessons based on the feedback received from peers.

While the results were positive, the researchers noted that the system was not perfect. Some teachers found it difficult to maintain full participation because of heavy teaching workloads, suggesting that future programs might need to be more flexible. Additionally, while teachers felt they were improving their teaching behaviors, some still struggled to clearly identify the specific problems they were solving, indicating a need for deeper reflection tools. The study concluded that this "integrated research and training" model offers a promising path forward for medical education. By combining learning, practice, and research into a single, continuous loop, it allows teachers to break down the barriers between schools and disciplines, creating a supportive environment where they can genuinely improve the quality of their teaching and, ultimately, the education of their students.