ObjectiveTo report our experience transitioning a pre-clinical neurology medical school curriculum from a lecture-based to an active learning-based format.BackgroundActive learning is an educational model which accentuates student engagement and collaboration. While active learning has been the basis of clinical training, the focus of preclinical medical education has traditionally centered on group lectures. Neurologist educators have been urged to shift emphasis on teaching towards problem-based learning. We describe our experience implementing a transition to an active learning model.Design/methodsBetween 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, the preclinical neurology curriculum converted from traditional lectures to an active learning format. The neurology curriculum was divided into eleven four-hour blocks. Each block focused on a particular subtopic of neurology. Each block was preceded by a reading assignment and class time including group-response activity testing in which teams of 4-5 students worked collaboratively to answer case-based questions. This was followed by class discussion and a one hour traditional pathology lecture.ResultsOur preclinical neurology curriculum transitioned from traditional lecture to an active learning model. The student course pass rate did not decrease after the transition. USMLE step I neuroscience performance did not change significantly after the transition, but overall mean scores on the USMLE step I increased. Over 75% of the 35 students responding to an anonymous poll reported gaining more from the active learning format compared to traditional lectures. 60% of students felt a comfort level with active learning needed 2-3 weeks to occur.ConclusionsActive learning replaced traditional lecture-based learning for our US medical school preclinical neurology course. This transition occurred without a decrease in student pass rate or USMLE Step I scores, and was met with positive reviews from medical students.
Disclosure: Dr. Pula has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nixon has nothing to disclose. Dr. Aiyer has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kattah has received personal compensation for activities with Pfizer, Inc. as a consultant.
Original Article: http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/short/82/10_Supplement/P1.321?rss=1
No comments:
Post a Comment