Transforming online teaching through the DOER course: A 'Q&A' with Senior Statistician Maria Vazquez Montes
Maria Vazquez Montes took the Developing Online Educational Resources (DOER) module through a fully funded bursary. In this blog, she shares how this short course enhanced her teaching practice in real-time as she reimagined her online module ‘Introduction to Statistics for Health Care Research’ into something more interactive, engaging and enjoyable for her students.
About the author
Maria Vazquez Montes is a Senior Statistician at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. Her current research interest focuses on diagnostic, prognostic and risk prediction modelling. Before joining the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences in 2008, she completed a PhD in Statistics at the University of Warwick (UK), a MSc in Statistics at Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas/Universidad de Guanajuato (Mexico), and a BSc in Mathematics at the Universidad de Yucatan (Mexico).
Where are you currently working and what does your work involve?
I am a Senior Statistician at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, where my current research interests centre around risk prediction modelling. I provide statistical support to various research groups within the Department and the Department of Psychiatry. My involvement includes working on an epidemiological study of recurrent urinary tract infections, exploring the risk of incident heart failure, conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of prognostic models for heart failure, and supporting an external validation of a tool designed to predict the risk of suicide following self-harm, among others.
Alongside my research work, I also have several teaching responsibilities. I co-coordinate the online module ‘Introduction to Statistics for Health Care Research’ and lead the ‘Appraisal’ and ‘Meta-analysis of Prediction Models’ sections of the ‘Clinical Prediction Rules’ module. Additionally, as a Non-stipendiary Lecturer in Human Sciences at St Hugh’s College, I tutor quantitative methods for 1st year undergraduate students.
Why did you choose the Developing Online Educational Resources short course?
I enrolled in the Developing Online Educational Resources (DOER) course because it offered a great opportunity to enhance the online course I co-ordinate, making it more effective and engaging. As do many academics, I have had to acquire teaching skills on the job.
Online teaching had been particularly challenging for me because I was completely relying on the students reaching out for help when needed to assess the students’ progress, but it was an opportunity for me to teach. The DOER course helped me to understand how the students were interacting with the online material and platform and realise that it was important to create a safe learning environment where the students would feel welcome to share their journey.
What has your experience of the module been?
Taking this course was a fascinating experience; it exemplified its intended message ‘to learn the essential skills for the effective teaching and development of online and digital resources in evidence-based health care (EBHC) education.’ The curriculum was based on evidence-based theories and all tutors were friendly, knowledgeable and supportive. We took part in both synchronous and asynchronous learning, which enhanced the experience.
The material was engaging and appropriately balanced, allowing me to study while working and develop ideas to contribute to the invaluable live discussions with other students, from whom I learned a great deal. I particularly enjoyed the session about planning and delivering synchronous online teaching, which emphasised the relevance of considering the students’ needs (eg reducing screen fatigue by taking small breaks or varying the activities) as well as achieving the learning objectives. Learning about different tools available for live interactions made a difference to my experience of the course.
How will the module contribute to your current work?
Given that I took the DOER course alongside my online teaching, I eagerly applied my newly acquired knowledge about different ways of learning and teaching support tools like the Whiteboard app in Microsoft Teams, transforming my course into a more interactive, engaging and enjoyable experience for my students.
One of the students said that what they liked most about the course was that 'it was very interactive due to the weekly live sessions'. Another student said, 'I asked lots of questions and [the tutors] always took the time to answer them and made sure I understood what was happening'. Referring to the atmosphere during the synchronous sessions, a student shared, '[the tutors] were always cheery and happy which was great as it made the live sessions great and made me want to show up'.
This success has motivated me to pursue further formal teaching training, and I am now exploring the possibility of becoming a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Maria completed the Developing Online Educational Resources module with support from a bursary offered by the Evidence-Based Health Care programmes. Click here to find out more about this bursary opportunity for staff and DPhil students in the Department. Visit the course page to learn more about the DOER short course, next running in October 2025.
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