Flipping the “Learning Skills” Course during COVID-19: A Mixed-Modality Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the male and female medical students’ perceptions of the flipped classroom (FC) using the Zoom online platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixedmodality study proceeded for first-year undergraduate medical students (n = 149). Three topics (learning how to learn, stress management and doctor-patient communication) were flipped using the Zoom platform. Following the flipping, relevant videos and PowerPoint slides were sent to the students. Home assignments were done through the online classroom. The students were then made to answer a questionnaire on their perceptions of FC consisting of 5-point Likert items. In addition, a focus group discussion (FGD) was carried out with voluntary participation (n = 13) for an in-depth discussion of flipped teaching. The quantitative data were analysed using the independent t-test, and Atlas.ti was used to analyse the qualitative data. For most of the Likert statements, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the mean results obtained by the male and female students. For example, for the item “The learning material was available before class time”, both the male (mean [SD] = 1.857 [0.443]) and female (mean [SD] = 1.966 [0.365]) respondents confirmed the learning material’s availability before class time (p = 0.121). However, the mean result obtained by the male respondents for the variable “I understood the topics in lesser time compared to the traditional lecture method” was higher than the mean result obtained by the female participants by 0.236, which was statistically significant (95% CI [0.373, –0.100], p = 0.001). Modified FC teaching for the “learning skills” course is thus an effective teaching method. The male students took significantly lesser time understanding the three included topics compared to the female students.