EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE VS. TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM TEACHING FOR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS: A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective:

To find effectiveness between online and traditional classroom teaching methods among final year class of MBBS.

Methods:

An observational study conducted at King Edward Medical University Lahore in April 2020 among the final year class of MBBS. Two Likert-scale questionnaires generated on Google Docs after taking approval from the university’s ethical committee. Informed consent was taken and all students of the final year class of MBBS, of both genders, were included. Univariate analysis was done taking preference of teaching method as a primary objective. P-value ≤0.05 considered significant. Data was analyzed using SPSS v20.

Results:

Three hundred and three (n=303) students responded to the traditional model and three hundred and ten (n=310) responded to online. Overall, the mean value of student preference for the traditional mode of teaching was higher than online (3.62 vs. 3.09). Univariate analysis showed, in the traditional mode of teaching students felt more concentrated during lectures (p<.001) and had more interclass interaction (p<.001). The student felt the online mode of teaching more effective (p=0.02) and found it more feasible to respond to class tests (p=0.01). However, both methods were significant regarding increasing productivity of students (p<.001, p<.001), non-complex (p=0.01, p=0.01) and enjoyable (p<.001, p=0.01)