Abstract
Background: The present study was designed to compare the knowledge gain of students in lectures and peer assisted learning (PAL) via end of course test scores. The purpose of this comparison was to assess the ability of PAL in enhancing academic achievement and to consider its addition within the traditional medical syllabus. Methods: A randomized control trial (RCT) was conducted at Department of Community Medicine, Lahore Medical and Dental College in 2014. Convenience sampling was used and out of 125 fourth year MBBS students, those who agreed to take part in the study (N = 99),were randomly allocated to PAL (n = 49) and lecture (n = 50) groups. Community Health& Nutrition was the course chosen for the study. Both lecture and the PAL sessions were conducted simultaneously and the duration and content covered in each session were the same for both groups. Knowledge gained was assessed through a pre- and post-test. Chi-square test, independent t test, paired t test and analysis of co variance (ANCOVA) were used for data analysis. Results: The study participants demonstrated a significant difference in the pre-test and post-tests cores in both the study groups (P ≤ 0.001). However, no statistically significant difference was found in the post-test scores between the Lecture and PAL groups, F (1, 95) = 0.584, P = 0.447.Gender and high school qualifications had no bearing on test scores in both learning groups. Conclusion: The present study concludes that in terms of academic achievements, PAL was equally effective to lectures. Therefore, PAL can be incorporated as a supplement to lectures in medical school curricula.
Highlights
In light of the directions provided by statutory bodies, the medical doctors of tomorrow ought to be professionals with skills for self-guided and continuous learning, teamwork, leadership and good communications and teaching skills.[1,2,3,4] Medical curricula are being modified relevant to the competencies required of medical graduates
Some studies found peer assisted learning (PAL) to be better than lectures,[8,27] others concluded that both strategies produced similar academic outcomes[31,32,33] while there is evidence that PAL groups score less than those taught in a didactic fashion.[34,35]
The present study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of PAL in comparison with the lecture, via the end test scores
Summary
In light of the directions provided by statutory bodies, the medical doctors of tomorrow ought to be professionals with skills for self-guided and continuous learning, teamwork, leadership and good communications and teaching skills.[1,2,3,4] Medical curricula are being modified relevant to the competencies required of medical graduates. Some studies found PAL to be better than lectures,[8,27] others concluded that both strategies produced similar academic outcomes[31,32,33] while there is evidence that PAL groups score less than those taught in a didactic fashion.[34,35] In Pakistan, the gap in knowledge about the effectiveness of PAL as a learning tool is very wide This void results because there are very few medical schools in the Pakistan which have incorporated PAL in their teaching learning program or have researched its efficacy in enhancing knowledge gained by students .9,22,33. The present study was designed to compare the knowledge gain of students in lectures and peer assisted learning (PAL) via end test scores The purpose of this comparison was to assess the ability of PAL in enhancing academic achievement and to consider its addition within the traditional medical syllabus. PAL can be incorporated as a supplement to lectures in medical school curricula
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