Abstract
IntroductionMedical students often do not value attending in-person large group sessions. It is also not clear from prior research whether attendance at large group sessions impact on performance in medical school. The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between voluntary attendance in large group sessions organized as a “flipped classroom” in a new innovative curriculum and students’ mastery of clinical applications of basic science knowledge.MethodologyOur students’ ability to apply basic science knowledge to clinical problems is assessed via progress testing using three methodologies: a locally developed multiple-choice examination, written examination developed through the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Customized Assessment Services Program and post encounter questions included in a clinical skills examination. We analyzed the relationship between voluntary attendance at weekly large group “flipped classroom” sessions and the students’ performance on examinations given at four intervals over the initial 24-week module of the medical school curriculum.ResultsComplete data were available for 167 students. A total of 82 students (49.1%) attended all large group sessions, 65 students (38.9%) missed one or two sessions and 20 students (12.0%) missed three or more sessions. There were no difference between the students in the groups on their medical admission (MCAT) examination scores. The growth in performance from each time point until the next was statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference in growth between the students who had no absences and those who had one or two absences. Students who missed three or more sessions performed significantly lower than their peers over the 24 week module and were more likely to score one or more standard deviations below the class mean on the assessments.ConclusionsWe found no relationship between attendance and MCAT scores suggesting the differences in performance on the progress tests was not due to initial differences in knowledge or reasoning skills. While the study was not experimental, it suggests large group sessions using a “flipped classroom” approach to provide reinforcement, feedback and practice may be effective for increasing learning and retention in the application of basic science knowledge among first year medical students.
Highlights
Medical students often do not value attending in-person large group sessions
The Shared Discovery Curriculum (SDC) is organized around patient chief complaints and concerns and student assessment is done via progress testing
We compared the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) scores of the three groups above to assess if they entered medical school with different levels of basic/behavioral knowledge or reasoning skills
Summary
Medical students often do not value attending in-person large group sessions. It is not clear from prior research whether attendance at large group sessions impact on performance in medical school. The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between voluntary attendance in large group sessions organized as a ‘‘flipped classroom’’ in a new innovative curriculum and students’ mastery of clinical applications of basic science knowledge. We analyzed the relationship between voluntary attendance at weekly large group ‘‘flipped classroom’’ sessions and the students’ performance on examinations given at four intervals over the initial 24-week module of the medical school curriculum. Students are trained in basic data gathering and patient communication skills and after eight weeks begin working in clinic settings with medical assistants and nurses They begin mastering clinical applications of basic science knowledge through guided independent study, problem-solving exercises in small groups, and in weekly large group sessions. Attendance at the large group session was encouraged but not required during the first year the curriculum was implemented
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