This study assessed the impact of an "active learning" strategy employed alone or in combination with traditional lectures on the learning of mammalian physiology by undergraduate students. The study investigated the impact of three teaching strategies, namely (1) traditional lecture, (2) group discussion alone, and (3) combination of…

A new teaching format, the LecturePlus, was formulated as a lecture followed by small-group learning activities. This study assessed the effectiveness of LecturePlus in medical education. An interventional study was conducted among final-year medical students, with 74 students in the experimental group and 96 students in the control group. Each…

A 3-year study (2017-2019) was conducted to obtain the views of nonmajor undergraduate students about discussions in learning physiology. The teaching methods used were lecture only (lecture), group discussion alone (discussion), and a combination of lecture and discussion (lecture + discussion). Students were assigned homework in a textbook, and…

The teaching-learning process must constantly overcome the barriers imposed by rapid scientific and technological advances, as well as changes in the profiles of students and access to information. This study intended to analyze the perceptions of students and professors of medical courses of the teaching-learning strategies used in physiology at…

The COVID-19 pandemic required a shift to online learning that posed particular challenges for the education of dental students. Basic science courses were presented in an online, asynchronous format to facilitate small group rotations through preclinical work. The success of active learning was previously examined in a Dental Physiology course,…

Engaging preclinical medical students in the curriculum is challenging. To address this challenge, the investigators developed and implemented self-paced polling with recorded lectures, in which students answered audience response questions at their own pace. In 2021, we retrospectively assigned second-year medical students (N = 165) as Active or…

Lectures constitute a basic component of physiology instruction in scientific and healthcare curricula. Technological progress has allowed a switch from face to face to video lectures, yet there is no evidence of video efficacy in physiology. Because videos increase the cognitive load during a learning task, identifying tools that decrease…

Difficulty index and its derivative performance index (PFI) have been commonly used to measure student learning outcomes. However, these indexes have a high volatility and low sensitivity. This work has established the simplex learning index (SLI), which has a low volatility and high sensitivity. To construct SLI, students were divided into two…

Since the availability of lecture recordings, there have been limited studies of any associations between face-to-face lecture attendance and academic outcomes. The aims of the study, in an introductory pathophysiology course, where lecture recordings were available, were 1) to quantify lecture attendance and any associations between academic…

Large classes taught with didactic lectures and assessed with multiple-choice tests are commonly reported to promote lower order (LO) thinking and a surface approach (SA) to learning. Using a case study design, we hypothesized that incorporating instructional scaffolding of core physiology principles and assessing students exclusively with…

Vertical integration is believed to increase motivation by providing context for the learning. In this quasi-experimental study, cohort I took two horizontally integrated modules: structure and function of head, neck, and special senses in the second year, and pathophysiology and clinical sciences in the third year. Cohort II took a combined,…

Physiology students grapple with large amounts of subject content and hence memorize facts to pass examinations. In parallel, students display limited critical-thinking and creative skills, integration abilities, and/or a deeper engagement with subject content. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of introducing active learning methods…

Flipped classroom teaching has been used by many educators to promote active learning in higher education. This andragogy is thought to increase student engagement by making them more accountable for their learning and increase time on task in the classroom. While there are several systematic reviews that point to improved student results, it…

Many medical schools offer pre-professional programs to undergraduate students. The main purpose of the university pre-professional program (UPPP) is to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills required to successfully cope with the academic demands of further education provided by professional colleges. The aim of this commentary…

Recently, medical students' scientific thinking skills have been identified as an important issue in medical education. Scientific thinking cannot be imparted in conventional lectures, but rather requires actively involving students. We modified a practical course in physiology. A study was designed to test whether the new course fosters…