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Background Lectures are one of the most common teaching methods in medical education. Didactic lectures were perceived by the students as the least effective method. Teaching methods that encourage self-directed learning can be effective in delivering core knowledge leading to increased learning. Problem based learning has been introduced as an active way of learning but it has some obstacles in developing countries where the intake is huge with minimum resources. This study introduces a new teaching approach: lectures based on problems (LBP) and evaluates their effectiveness compared to traditional lectures (TL) in physiology teaching. Methods LBP and TL were applied in physiology teaching of medical students at University of Science and Technology during their study of introduction to physiology and respiratory physiology courses. Equal number of lectures was given as LBP and as TL in each course. Students were given quizzes at the end of each course which were used to compare the effectiveness of the two types of lectures. A questionnaire was used to assess students’ satisfaction about LBP and the perceived effects of the two methods on the students’ attitude and practice towards learning physiology. Results In LBP the students have better attention ( P  = 0.002) and more active role ( P  = 0.003) than in TL. Higher percentage of students think that LBP stimulated them to use references more ( P  = 0.00006) and to use the lecture time more effectively ( P  = 0.0001) compared to TL. However, there was no significant difference between LBP and TL in the awareness of the learning objectives. About 64% of students think that LBP is more enjoyable and it improved their understanding of physiology concepts. Comparison of the students’ quiz marks showed that the means of the students’ marks in the introduction to physiology and respiratory courses were higher in the quizzes of LBP than in TL with a significant difference between them (( P  = .000), ( P  = .006) respectively. Conclusions LBP improved students’ understanding of physiology concepts and increased students’ satisfaction about physiology learning. LBP achieved some of the objectives of PBL with the minimum resources and it can be used to improve the effectiveness of the lectures.

Background This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of PBL–CBL combined teaching in thyroid surgery and make observations from the students’ perspectives, based on their satisfaction with the learning process. Methods We prospectively enrolled 354 fourth-year students majoring in clinical medicine, along with 232 residents, from September 2014 to June 2019. These participants were randomly allocated into either the combined PBL–CBL teaching group or the traditional lecture-based classroom group to attend a course about thyroid nodules. Both pre- and post-class quizzes were conducted. An anonymous questionnaire was also administered to both groups to evaluate the students’ perceptions and experiences. We compared the two teaching methods among all the students as well as with the fourth-year students and residents in subgroups. Results The traditional group’s pre-class quiz scores were significantly higher than the PBL–CBL group’s (as determined by a two-tailed t-test at a 95% confidence interval, T  = 16.483, P  < 0.001). After class, in the PBL–CBL group, the mean total quiz score and the basic knowledge and case analysis scores increased significantly ( P  < 0.001). The PBL–CBL group’s performance improvement was significantly higher than the traditional group’s (increasing from 52.76 to 70.51 vs. from 67.03 to 71.97). Furthermore, the scores for learning motivation, understanding, student–teacher interaction, the final examination, communication skills, clinical thinking skills, self-learning skills, teamwork skills, and knowledge absorption, as measured by the survey, were significantly higher in the PBL–CBL group than in the traditional group ( P  < 0.001). Meanwhile, the survey scores representing the amount of students’ free time the course consumed were significantly lower in the PBL–CBL group than in the traditional group ( P  < 0.001). Conclusions PBL combined with CBL may be an effective method for improving medical students’ and residents’ performance and enhancing their clinical skills.

The introduction of problem-based learning (PBL) in 1969 is considered the greatest innovation in medical education of the past 50 years. Since then, PBL has been implemented in different educational settings across virtually all health professions. However, some PBL schools gradually faced resistance from academic staff who were more familiar with traditional teacher-centred curricula. At times this has resulted in reversion to tradition or compromise whereby PBL is implemented within a lecture-based curriculum. Resistance can also emerge in a traditional school when a PBL curriculum is being considered for implementation. One of the first signs of this erosion is doubts about PBL raised in the form of objections or criticisms. This perspective review describes eight objections raised to assert why PBL is inferior or untenable. The background to each objection is provided together with evidence-informed rebuttals derived from professional practice and the published literature. Best practices are discussed for sustainable management of a PBL-based curriculum. A well-implemented PBL curriculum with appropriate and cost-effective infrastructure, training, teaching-learning activities, and assessment will position schools to harness the full benefit of PBL in training medical and health professionals.

BackgroundSurgical education is crucial to patient care as it trains surgeons and equips medical students with knowledge and skills. Flipped classroom (FC) is an active teaching approach that has shown potential in medical education, but its impact on surgical education remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of FC compared with traditional lecture (TL) in surgical education.MethodsWeb of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched following a predefined protocol. Risk of bias was assessed by the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (version 2) and the “Risk of Bias” tool from the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Group. The certainty of evidence (CoE) was measured applying the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) system. Pooled effects of FC over TL were calculated using standard mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analyses were performed to explore potential sources of heterogeneity.ResultsA total of 11 studies were included in the systematic review and nine in the meta-analysis. FC showed significant benefits over TL in improving learning outcomes as measured by total scores (SMD = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.11–0.63, p = 0.005), theoretical scores (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.09–0.54, p = 0.005), and operational scores (SMD = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.33–0.78, p < 0.00001). Study design, study direction, continent, curriculum type, and exam type may affect heterogeneity. The GRADE showed high CoE for total and operational scores and moderate CoE for theoretical scores in randomized studies, but very low CoE for three outcomes in non-randomized studies.ConclusionCurrent evidence suggests that FC may be more effective in surgical education for improving students’ academic performance compared with TL. It may serve as a promising approach for surgical education. More high-quality studies are expected to confirm these findings.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024602869, identifier PROSPERO (CRD42024602869).

Instructors’ attention to students is vital for teaching. However, instructors’ level of attention to students, which has the potential to influence students’ learning across different lecture types, has yet to be fully explored. The aim of this study was to examine the impacts of the instructor’s attention to students and lecture type on students’ learning performance and perceptions. This study used a 3 × 2 (instructor’s attention: high vs. medium vs. low; lecture type: video lecture vs. traditional lecture) between-subjects design. Traditional lectures were conducted in the classroom by the instructor, whereas video lectures involved playing pre-recorded videos of the instructor. Each type of lecture contained three levels of the instructor’s attention. A total sample of 285 primary school students was randomly assigned to one of six classrooms to view a lecture. A posttest was administered to measure learning performance, while post-lecture questionnaires were used to assess perceptions, including learning experience, learning satisfaction, and affects. ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. Results showed that the instructor’s attention had effects on students’ learning performance and perceptions regardless of lecture type. Specifically, the instructor’s high attention enhanced students’ learning performance. Furthermore, the instructor’s medium attention promoted students’ learning experience, learning satisfaction, and positive affect, while the instructor’s low attention restrained it. Our results highlight the fact that an instructor’s visual attention influences students’ learning performance and perceptions in video lectures and traditional lectures. The study recommends that instructors should strategically allocate their attention to optimize students’ learning.

Background Utilizing the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) ensures objectivity when it comes to the assessment of nursing students’ skills and competency. However, one challenge in OSCE integration is rater and examinee training and orientation. Aim This study employed a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of different instructional methodologies in training and preparing raters and examinees for the OSCE. Methods Participants were divided into three group of training methodologies: online, simulation, and traditional lecture (six raters and 18 examinees were assigned to each group). A total of 18 raters and 54 examinees partook. Results The study found that raters trained through simulation exhibited a slight agreement with their rates, compared to those who were trained online and in traditional lectures. Moreover, examinees who were trained through the simulation methodology performed better compared to those trained via the other methodologies. Conclusions The study findings indicate that using simulation by training raters and examinees in the OSCE is the most effective approach.

Background Case-based learning (CBL) has been found to be effective for many subjects, but there is currently a lack of evidence regarding its utility in psychology education. The present study investigated whether CBL pedagogy can improve students’ academic performance in psychology courses compared to the traditional teaching methods. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of CBL in psychology teaching. Databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) , the VIP database , and Wanfang data were searched to find eligible randomized controlled trials. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using Hedges’ g under the random effects model, and a subgroup analysis was carried to investigate the heterogeneity among studies. Results Fifteen studies with 2172 participants, 1086 in the CBL group and 1086 in the traditional lecture-based teaching group, were included in the meta-analysis. Students in the CBL group scored significantly higher on exams than those in the lecture-based group [Hedges’ g = 0.68, 95%CI (0.49, 0.88), p  < 0.00]. Relatively high heterogeneity was noted among the included studies. Publication bias was examined by the funnel plot and Egger’s test, but did not significantly influence the stability of the results. A subsequent evaluation using the trim-and-fill method confirmed that no single study was skewing the overall results. A qualitative review of the included studies suggested that most students in the CBL group were satisfied with the CBL teaching mode. Conclusions This meta-analysis indicated that the CBL pedagogy could be effective in psychology education, and might help increase students’ academic scores, while encouraging a more engaging and cooperative learning environment. At present, the application of CBL in psychology education is in its initial stage. Problems related to the curriculum itself, research methodology, and challenges faced by both teachers and learners have confined its practice. Fully tapping into the strengths of CBL in psychology teaching will require additional work and advancing research.

Background Asynchronous online lecture has become a common teaching method in medical education, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the effectiveness and students’ attitudes towards this method under this special circumstance have not been exclusively studied. Hence, we aimed to evaluate these aspects of cardiovascular physiology teaching in an undergraduate medical curriculum. Methods We analysed and compared the academic achievement and attitudes of 613 medical students on cardiovascular physiology between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 years in which different teaching methods were implemented. In addition, we also explored the importance of teaching methods and teachers by subgroup analysis to evaluate whether they influenced the academic achievement and attitudes of students. Results Overall students’ academic achievement was significantly higher when lectures were taught by the traditional method than by the asynchronous online method. Moreover, subgroup analysis revealed that teachers were also a factor influencing students’ academic achievement. Although most students had positive attitudes towards asynchronous online lectures, overall satisfaction was slightly higher when all lectures were taught by the traditional method than by the asynchronous online method. Conclusions Asynchronous online lectures might not be an effective teaching method especially during the abrupt change in education. Under the ‘new normal’ medical education, not only teaching methods but also teachers are the essential keys to the success in academic achievement and attitudes of undergraduate medical students.

Background The flipped classroom (FC) is recognized as an effective teaching approaches by emphasizing on the development of high-order abilities; however, the implementation of FC has not been well explored in nephrology education. The present study aims to investigate the efficacy of FC in teaching nephrology via comparing with the traditional lecture-based teaching (LBT). Methods Sixty-two medical clerkship students at Zhejiang University School of Medicine were equally allocated into either LBT or FC group demographically matched. The glomerular diseases module was chosen for the teaching content. Students from the FC group were required to study the pre-class materials in annotated PPT format in advance. In the class, case-based learning (CBL) was employed, students encountered the related clinical cases and participated in the face-to -face discussion. Students from the LBT group attended a didactic lecture during the class. Quiz and questionnaires were performed to assess the efficacy of FC versus LBT. Results Participants from the FC group performed better in the quiz than those from the LBT group with higher total scores (78.06 ± 2.515 vs. 65.16 ± 3.209, mean ± SEM), particularly the scores of the case analysis-related questions (35.81 ± 1.657 vs. 27.42 ± 1.910, mean ± SEM). In the survey, more students considered FC beneficial to comprehension, critical thinking, patient management and team work as compared with LBT. Meanwhile, more participants agreed increased in-class pressure in FC than in LBT. Conclusions This study shows the positive impact of FC combined with CBL approach on nephrology education and provides an alternative pre-class and in-class format for the FC implementation.

Background Over the past few years, there has been a parallel development in the use of the internet and technology for teaching purposes. The Flipped classroom model (FCM) used by the instructor aims at spending more time interacting with students rather than lecturing them. There are very few studies about the effectiveness of FCM on student performance and perception as compared to the traditional lecture in colleges of medicine. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the FCM on the academic achievement of students in terms of increased performance and perception as compared to the traditional lecture the medical students in Al-Neelain University-Sudan. Method This case-control study compares using (FCM) in the medical students at Al-Neelain University and the traditional lecture and its effect on students’ academic achievement. The students were randomly assigned into two groups (A & B), flipped classroom group A (30 students as a test), and traditional classroom group B (33students as control). Major outcome indexes were pretest and posttest results used for students’ academic achievement performance assessment and a questionnaire used for student perception evaluation about the FCM. Finally, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS programs. Results Although the pretest and posttest scores showed highly statistically differences within each group (A&B) with P <.000, when comparing the pretest and posttest scores of the studied groups showed that, there were no statistically significant differences between the pretest and posttest scores between them with P =0.912 and 0.100 respectively. However, more than 80% of participants were satisfied with using a flipped classroom. While more than 90% of students were more motivated to learn in flipped classrooms meeting learning targets when they used FCM. Conclusion There was a positive student perception towards using the FCM, despite no significant effect of FCM on medical students’ academic achievement.