Evaluation of the Teaching Approaches of Biochemistry for Medical Students: A Sri Lankan Case Study

KNH, Marikar FMMT Wadige

doi:10.4172/2161-0711.1000359

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Consequently, there is understandable skepticism about the usefulness of student surveys 26 . As in other studies 20 and mentioned above, though the students said the lectures were the least enjoyable modality, they ranked lectures as the most important for information retention, and were least likely to recommend lectures for removal from the course. This makes it clear that students are not merely blinded by enjoyment when making these evaluations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…In response, there has been increasing effort to rethink and reshape education of these foundational sciences to meet the challenges faced and questions raised by students. Positive attitudes have been reported in reaction to modalities such as team-based learning, 12 collaborative inverted-classrooms, 13 course-based research experien ce, 14 e-learning materials, 15 or case-based learning, [16][17][18] while others favor traditional blackboards and other forms of face-to-face lectures, 19,20 or a combination of the above. 21 This highlights the need for student-specific deliverables, instead of implementing a "blanket ban" on older modalities 9 ; this is consistent even among nonmedicine-oriented students.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A cord of four strands: Perspective of pre‐medical and medical students on combined teaching modalities in undergraduate biochemistry

Andrews,

Paul,

Chaari

2023

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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Despite being a traditional coursework for pre‐medical and medical students around the globe, biochemistry education suffers from a lack of positive appreciation due to the nature of the subject combined with deficiency of teaching modalities. A first semester biochemistry course was designed to include four different teaching modalities: lectures, recitations, case studies, and student presentations. A multi‐item, anonymous, and voluntary questionnaire was distributed to students who had just completed the course and to those who had taken it the previous year. The questionnaire asked students to evaluate the course and how the different modalities affected their learning. These questionnaires took place in a two‐year period between 2020 and 2021. Eighty‐six (46%) of 186 total students responded. The vast majority of respondents agreed with the use of multimodal teaching techniques with respect to its impact on overall preparedness for future coursework, understanding, and enjoyability. Lectures and recitations were found to be the most useful in information retention and learning, although the same were found to be less enjoyable than other modalities. Although case studies and presentations were found to be enjoyable, most students ranked them low in terms of information retention and were the most voted to be removed from the course. There was general agreement between premedical and medical students' perception on the usefulness of the multimodal teaching techniques with respect to medical biochemistry modules and standardized exams. The agreement between cohorts suggests the premedical students accurately evaluated the usefulness of the course for the following year and validates the usefulness of the premedical student surveys. Use of multiple modalities in biochemistry education can be of substantial benefit in engaging and preparing students for further education.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cord of four strands: Perspective of pre‐medical and medical students on combined teaching modalities in undergraduate biochemistry

Andrews,

Paul,

Chaari

2023

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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Evaluation of the undergraduate family medicine programme of Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya: quantitative and qualitative student feedback

et al. 2019

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BackgroundWorldwide there is an increasing emphasis on the importance of primary care. The ministry of health Sri Lanka issued a directive in 2016 that training of doctors in primary care should be strengthened.Medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya follow a 1 month long clinical appointment in family medicine in their fourth year of study.MethodsFeedback is taken from students on completion of the appointment. Half the students from each group complete a pre tested structured feedback questionnaire that consists of answers to questions based on a likert scale with a space for free comments. The other half provide qualitative feedback.In this evaluation data were gathered from 185 (98%) students from all eight clinical groups throughout the year 2016.Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 22. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data from the Round Robin activity and free comments from the questionnaire.ResultsThe qualitative feedback provided a richer indepth overview of student ideas on the appointment compared to the quantitative data.In reflection of a desire for learning to be of relevance students wanted clinically oriented teaching focused on management. They preferred active teaching learning methods such as the opportunity to conduct consultations and receive immediate feedback. Students had a high regard for the teaching sessions by general practitioners at their clinics.The appointment had created an interest in the discipline of family medicine which could have an impact on future choice of career. There were indications to suggest that student attitudes towards patients may have evolved to be more patient centred.Students appreciated the inclusive and low stress ambience of the learning environment.Conclusions and recommendationsRegular evaluation of teaching programmes helps maintain accountability of faculty and paves the way for more student centred teaching through the incorporation of students’ views in devising teaching methods. This evaluation found that qualitative feedback provided more descriptive material to reflect on and therefore improve teaching on the programme. It is recommended that more use should be made of qualitative methodologies in programme evaluations.

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Enhancing Biochemistry Assessment Quality in Medical Education Through Item Response Theory (IRT)

Baharuddin,

Handayani,

Rusli

2024

Preprint

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Background In medical education, particularly in biochemistry, crafting high-quality assessment questions is a primary challenge. Each item necessitates thorough evaluation, and precise identification of student abilities is crucial for maximally reflecting learning achievement. Objective This study aims to enhance assessment quality in biochemistry medical education by implementing Item Response Theory (IRT). This approach addresses Classical Test Theory (CTT) limitations. Recognizing the critical role of question quality in the learning process, the study investigates how IRT can more holistically and equitably assess student abilities. It includes a comparative analysis of student scores before and after IRT implementation. Methods Employing a mixed-method research approach, this study combines comparative quantitative analysis with qualitative ICC curve analysis in a pre-post experimental design. It focuses on biochemistry exam data from medical students (n = 89). IRT is used to measure the probability of student responses to questions, using parameters such as discrimination, difficulty level, and guessing probability. Jamovi software supports this analysis by accelerating computational processes. Results Significant improvements were observed in both question quality and student scores. Prior to IRT implementation, the average initial exam score was 56.1, which increased to 74.1 in the subsequent exam. The IRT evaluation indicated that the exam questions achieved a more effective differentiation between students of varying abilities. This improvement was evident from the increased person reliability and through Wright Map visualizations, which helped identify highly difficult questions via the Item Characteristic Curve (ICC). Conclusion The study advocates for integrating IRT as a standard method in biochemistry medical assessments. It highlights the necessity of assessments that are sensitive to individual student capabilities, providing more precise feedback for enhancing the quality of learning. These findings are crucial for evolving evaluation methodologies and advancing medical education standards.

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Evaluation of the Teaching Approaches of Biochemistry for Medical Students: A Sri Lankan Case Study

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

A cord of four strands: Perspective of pre‐medical and medical students on combined teaching modalities in undergraduate biochemistry

A cord of four strands: Perspective of pre‐medical and medical students on combined teaching modalities in undergraduate biochemistry

Evaluation of the undergraduate family medicine programme of Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya: quantitative and qualitative student feedback

Enhancing Biochemistry Assessment Quality in Medical Education Through Item Response Theory (IRT)

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