Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on students’ performance in a problem-based learning system: comparative study between face-to-face-and virtual learning.

Abstract

Background Amongst all other educational institutions, medical schools suffered the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical education requires a great deal of interaction between instructors and students, and in the final years, patients as well. In response to the pandemic, the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences at the Arabian Gulf University has applied virtual teaching/learning since March 2020 as an alternative to face-to-face teaching. The college used Moodle and Zoom as online methods for education. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual medical education by comparing students’ performance in final exams in face-to-face and virtual settings. Methods Following the college's ethical approval, this longitudinal study was performed on 183 medical students. Those students experienced 2 different successive methods of teaching/learning; Unit V as face-to-face followed by Unit VI as virtual settings. Students' performance in the final exams of both units was analyzed and compared. Results There was no significant difference in student performance between Units V and VI. Students' performance in the physiology part was equally effective in both units, while the difficulty index of both exams was insignificantly different. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that students’ performance in final exams could serve as an objective parameter when comparing different educational settings. Our results also support the idea that, in certain aspects, virtual is equal to face-to-face medical education strategies.

Academic Performance in Medical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

“… To analyze the relationship between medical students’ preferences regarding the teaching strategies used by instructors with the level of course difficulty, students’ academic performance, and perceived effectiveness. Single Medical School Undergraduate 375 Online instructional strategies Self-reported academic performance Three online learning strategies are positively related to students’ perceptions of online teaching effectiveness and academic performance Al Shaibani et al, 30 2020, Bahrain, Cohort. To analyze the effectiveness of virtual medical education by comparing student performance in final exams in face-to-face and virtual settings.…”

“…The measurement of academic performance in this scoping varies greatly (see Table 2). There were six studies using GPA [18][19][20][21][22][23] ; nine studies using module scores [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] ; three studies implementing summative exam scores; [33][34][35] making use of practice/performance exams 2,36 ; two studies employing self-reported academic performance scores 37,38 ; and two studies applying laboratory examination scores. 39,40 Primary Outcome: Academic Performance in Medical Education Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic…”

“…21 We found 11 studies examined external factors that influenced academic performance during COVID-19 pandemic. The factors were the use of online learning media, 28,30,32,35,39,40 changes in the schedule of anatomy laboratory learning activities, 36 graduation assessment system, 20 online instructional strategies, 38 students' attendance, 29 e-learning educational programs. 26 Five studies reported correlation of the factors to academic performance.…”

Online and Face-to-Face Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Analysis of Instructors and Student’s Performance

“…Tang et al (2021) conducted a comparative analysis of students' readiness for live online learning during the pandemic in higher education. Shaibani et al (2020) conducted a comparative study of the impact of COVID-19 on students' performance in problem-based learning between face-to-face and virtual learning. Foo et al (2021) conducted a comparative study to evaluate the effectiveness of distance and face-to-face learning in problem-based learning tutorials.…”