title: Visual research in clinical education.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this paper is to explore what might be gained from collecting and analysing visual data, such as photographs, scans, drawings, video and screen recordings, in clinical educational research. Its focus is on visual research that looks at teaching and learning 'as it naturally occurs' in the work place, in simulation centres and other sites, and also involves the collection and analysis of visual learning materials circulating in these sites.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  With the ubiquity of digital recording devices, video data and visual learning materials are now relatively cheap to collect. Compared to other domains of education research visual materials are not widely used in clinical education research. The paper sets out to identify and reflect on the possibilities for visual research using examples from an ethnographic study on surgical and inter-professional learning in the operating theatres of a London hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The paper shows how visual research enables recognition, analysis and critical evaluation of (1) the hidden curriculum, such as the meanings implied by embodied, visible actions of clinicians; (2) the ways in which clinical teachers design multimodal learning environments using a range of modes of communication available to them, combining, for instance, gesture and speech; (3) the informal assessment of clinical skills, and the intricate relation between trainee performance and supervisor feedback; (4) the potentialities and limitations of different visual learning materials, such as textbooks and videos, for representing medical knowledge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The paper concludes with theoretical and methodological reflections on what can be made visible, and therefore available for analysis, explanation and evaluation if visual materials are used for clinical education research, and what remains unaccounted for if written language remains the dominant mode in the research cycle. Opportunities for quantitative analysis and ethical implications are also discussed.
authors: UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK.
authors: Jeff
authors: J
authors: Bezemer
mesh_terms: D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D035843:Biomedical Research; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D013663:Teaching; D013664:Teaching Materials; D014743:Videotape Recording / Q000379:methods*