Evaluation of Online Practical Courses and Exams from the Students' Perspectives of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Department: Sample of Pamukkale University

Background and aim: Due to the pandemic, all courses and exams in the physiotherapy and rehabilitation department continue through online training. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the online practical courses and exams from the point of view of the students of the physiotherapy and rehabilitation department. Materials and methods: Two hundred volunteers who are 2nd and 3rd year students taking practical vocational courses online at Pamukkale University School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year were included in the study. Students who accepted to participate in the study were sent an evaluation form prepared via Google Forms and asked to fill it out online. The level of satisfaction with the online method of teaching applied courses was evaluated using the Satisfaction Scale for E-Course (SSEC) and the online method of conducting the exams using the E-Assessment Attitude Scale (EAAS). Results: A total of 200 students (145 female, 55 male) with a mean age of 21.36±2.70 years were included in the study. 43.5% (n=87) of the students were second-year students and 56.5% (n=113) were third-year students. 79% (n=158) of the students stated that face-to-face education is better than distance education, 17.5% (n=35) stated that distance education is sufficient and 3.5% (n=7) stated that face-to-face education is stated that there was no difference between the mean total score of the second graders on SSEC was 112.80±31.73, and the total score on EAAS was 67.36±13.72. The mean total score of SSEC of the third graders was 100.46±26.76, and the total score of EAAS was 66.60±11.69. While the second-year students' level of satisfaction was higher (p=0.004), their views on exams were similar (p=0.677). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the students' level of satisfaction with the course and their perspectives on the exams (p=0.001; r=0.369). Conclusion: Although the course materials are rich during distance education in the 3rd grade, where the application-oriented courses are more intense, the level of satisfaction with the courses is lower since the students do not have the opportunity to practice one-on-one. In order to eliminate these deficiencies of the students, concentrated practical trainings can be applied in small groups under pandemic conditions.