Students' attitude toward didactic lecture versus problem-based learning in pharmacology: a questionnaire based study

Background: The study was conducted to assess student attitude toward learning by didactic lectures versus problem-based learning (PBL). Methods: A questionnaire containing 11 statements was distributed to the students. Statements ranged from general information on lectures and PBL to benefits of lecture-based learning (LBL) over PBL and vice versa. The students were asked to score each individual statement. The median total scores and median with inter-quartile range of individual statements was calculated. A comparison between questions that support LBL or PBL was performed. Student t-test was employed to compare the mean scores of different groups. Results: Two hundred and seven students participated in this questionnaire study. The individual median total score was 42 when compared with possible total score of 55. There was a statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference between the total score (mean±standard deviation) for the questions related to LBL (3.2391±0.05120) and those related to PBL (4.0640±0.05688). Conclusion: The score for PBL was significantly higher than LBL showing that students liked PBL more than LBL.