Effect of Teaching Strategies on Academic Performance of Junior Medical Students

Objective: To evaluates the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) versus lecture based learning (LBL) as a learning tool in terms of retention, recall and reproducibility of knowledge among junior medical students. Methodology: This Post-test experimental study was conducted on 2nd year medical students (n=54) of College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdul rahman University, Riyadh, KSA. Ten topics taught each by PBL and lectures with comparable scientific content and complexity levels, selectedfrom the five blocks of first year. Two multiple choice questions exams were developed, comprising 50 scenario-based questions each, covering concepts in Physiology, Biochemistry, Pathology and Microbiology. Results: The average score for PBL questions was 25.46 out of 50 compared to 20.26 for LBL (P <0.001). The percentage of students with scores >60% were 22.2% and 5.5% for PBL and LBL exams, respectively. Linear regression analysis between students' scores in PBL and LBL exams showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.6358; P ≤ 0.001). Stratification according to GPA demonstrated that both the high achievers and the rest of students performed better on PBL taught topics. In addition, difference in scores between the two strategies were reproducible (P<0.001) Conclusion: The study confirms that PBL is an effective teaching tool in terms of retention and recall of knowledge after a period of 6 to 8 months as compared to interactive lectures for undergraduate medical students