Online learning satisfaction and participation in flipped classroom and case-based learning for medical students

Abstract

Introduction: Traditional teaching, a lecturer-centered approach, has been the default methodology in medical schools. In the last decades, there has been a shift in health education towards methods that encourage the student’s active participation. It has been proved that active methodologies increase engagement, and this was particularly necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic, when active methodologies were crucial to raise student participation in online classes. Objective: This study aimed to measure student satisfaction and participation in online classes utilizing active learning methods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We gathered data from anonymous surveys completed by fourth-year medical students during 18 months of online classes of pediatrics at a public medical school in Brazil. Classes were taught using flipped classroom and case-based learning methodology. Results: One hundred and twenty-one students took part in this survey. Satisfaction level with case-based learning classes in the discipline was high (53% very satisfied; 39% satisfied; 6% neutral; 2% unsatisfied). Most of the students (70%) answered that, in general, they prefer CBL to expositive classes (16% prefer expositive classes; 14% are neutral). Reading compliance was good: 81% read 75-100% of the texts, and 19% read 50-74% of them. Conclusion: The implementation of the active learning curriculum for the discipline of pediatrics demonstrated to be successful considering the participation of the students and their satisfaction level.