Lectures or small group discussions: What do undergraduate medical students perceive and prefer

Background & Objective: Physiology is the knowledge of normal functions of the body. Although different teaching methods are used to teach the subject, including didactic lectures, small group discussions, tutorials, etc., students’ perception of these methods is important. The study assessed...

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Main Authors: Zaima Ali, Rameen khan, Saad Muhammad bin Gulshad, Shozib Mushtaq, Shahana Waqas, Rimsha Farooq
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Zanjan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services 2023-02-01
Series:Journal of Medical Education Development
Subjects:
Online Access:http://zums.ac.ir/edujournal/article-1-1777-en.html
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author Zaima Ali
Rameen khan
Saad Muhammad bin Gulshad
Shozib Mushtaq
Shahana Waqas
Rimsha Farooq
author_facet Zaima Ali
Rameen khan
Saad Muhammad bin Gulshad
Shozib Mushtaq
Shahana Waqas
Rimsha Farooq
author_sort Zaima Ali
collection DOAJ
description Background & Objective: Physiology is the knowledge of normal functions of the body. Although different teaching methods are used to teach the subject, including didactic lectures, small group discussions, tutorials, etc., students’ perception of these methods is important. The study assessed the perceptions of medical students about lectures and small group discussion (SGD) and to check the preference of high achievers about the two methods. Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a medical college from April till July 2022. After approval from the Institutional review board, students of first- and secondyear Bachelor of Medicine, and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) participated with consent. Data was collected with a structured questionnaire and described as frequency and percentages. To check the association between categorical variables chi-square test was applied. Results: A total number of 268 students participated, including 148 females and 120 males. 65.3% of the students preferred SGDs over lectures. The Chi-square test revealed a significant association between high performance and SGDs regarding accountability in the session, communication skills, presentation skills, and analytical thinking, as well as problem-solving (p-value < 0.05). Overall, 75% of the high achievers preferred SGDs while 25% were in favor of lectures. There was a significant association between the high achievers and SGDs (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Medical students preferred SGDs over lectures as SGDs improved their communication, analytical, and reasoning skills. SGDs are associated with high performance regarding communication skills, presentation skills, and analytical thinking, as well as problemsolving.
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spelling doaj.art-9ea3c7e9ab134937945f4c0b79659ea02023-09-03T14:47:49ZengZanjan University of Medical Sciences and Health ServicesJournal of Medical Education Development2251-95212980-76702023-02-011648384310.52547/edcj.15.48.38Lectures or small group discussions: What do undergraduate medical students perceive and preferZaima Ali0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1509-3396Rameen khan1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5784-7331Saad Muhammad bin Gulshad2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6863-5083 Shozib Mushtaq3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7785-4176Shahana Waqas4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8939-2095Rimsha Farooq5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4274-2910Department of Physiology, Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, PakistanLahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, PakistanLahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, PakistanLahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, PakistanLahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, PakistanBackground & Objective: Physiology is the knowledge of normal functions of the body. Although different teaching methods are used to teach the subject, including didactic lectures, small group discussions, tutorials, etc., students’ perception of these methods is important. The study assessed the perceptions of medical students about lectures and small group discussion (SGD) and to check the preference of high achievers about the two methods. Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a medical college from April till July 2022. After approval from the Institutional review board, students of first- and secondyear Bachelor of Medicine, and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) participated with consent. Data was collected with a structured questionnaire and described as frequency and percentages. To check the association between categorical variables chi-square test was applied. Results: A total number of 268 students participated, including 148 females and 120 males. 65.3% of the students preferred SGDs over lectures. The Chi-square test revealed a significant association between high performance and SGDs regarding accountability in the session, communication skills, presentation skills, and analytical thinking, as well as problem-solving (p-value < 0.05). Overall, 75% of the high achievers preferred SGDs while 25% were in favor of lectures. There was a significant association between the high achievers and SGDs (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Medical students preferred SGDs over lectures as SGDs improved their communication, analytical, and reasoning skills. SGDs are associated with high performance regarding communication skills, presentation skills, and analytical thinking, as well as problemsolving. http://zums.ac.ir/edujournal/article-1-1777-en.htmlphysiologyperceptionpreference
spellingShingle Zaima Ali
Rameen khan
Saad Muhammad bin Gulshad
Shozib Mushtaq
Shahana Waqas
Rimsha Farooq
Lectures or small group discussions: What do undergraduate medical students perceive and prefer
Journal of Medical Education Development
physiology
perception
preference
title Lectures or small group discussions: What do undergraduate medical students perceive and prefer
title_full Lectures or small group discussions: What do undergraduate medical students perceive and prefer
title_fullStr Lectures or small group discussions: What do undergraduate medical students perceive and prefer
title_full_unstemmed Lectures or small group discussions: What do undergraduate medical students perceive and prefer
title_short Lectures or small group discussions: What do undergraduate medical students perceive and prefer
title_sort lectures or small group discussions what do undergraduate medical students perceive and prefer
topic physiology
perception
preference
url http://zums.ac.ir/edujournal/article-1-1777-en.html
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