Medical immunology for Gen Z

Abstract

Abstract While there is much discussion in education literature about the benefits of a flipped classroom, medical educators still typically rely on traditional didactic lectures as a primary teaching modality. In fact, when given a choice of delivery modalities, learners often prefer to engage in the easier and comfortable route to knowledge, including listening to lectures. However, traditional learning through passive techniques such as reading and listening is less effective because it fails to facilitate application and recall of concepts. High order learning and retention is significantly improved when the learning process is challenging and thought-provoking. We use immunology within a medical school curriculum to compare the effectiveness of and student preferences for two distinct teaching modalities. Data will be collected from 170 first year medical students at our institution. The immunology unit consists of 5 sessions, each session linked to 3–4 exam items. Four sessions consist of prerecorded lectures provided to students prior to class. In class, students complete a short individual quiz with low-level questions, the quiz is reviewed, and the remaining class time is spent doing high-level application problems. The final session is delivered as a didactic, in-class lecture. For that final session, students are provided with the low-level quiz and high-level application problems to do at their own discretion. No aspect of the learning activities is required or graded. Following the unit, students will be anonymously surveyed regarding preferences of content delivery modalities. Effectiveness of delivery modalities will be compared by assessing student performance on linked exam items. The unit concludes in November 2019.