Evaluation of problem-based learning in medical students’ education

Introduction: In traditional medical education systems much interest isplaced on the cramming of basic and clinical facts without considering theirapplicability in the future professional career. The aim of this study is to evaluatea novice medical training method (problem-based learning) as compared tothe contemporary teacher-based medical education or traditional methods.Methods: Selection of the study subjects was done through simple sampling andaccording to the division of medical students introduced from Medical Facultyto the Pediatrics Department with no personal involvement. 120 medicalstudents were assigned to 8 groups of 15 students each. For four months, 4groups were trained with traditional method and 4 other groups underwentproblem-based learning method on selected subject materials. In each method,a pre-course test at the beginning and a post-course test at the end of eachcourse were given to each group. The questionnaire used in this study as theinstrument was composed of 39 questions, 37 multiple choice questions andtwo short answer questions. Three professors of pediatric gastroenterologisttook part in the training. Two of these professors were responsible for solvingtask training method. The third professor used traditional teacher-centeredmethodology to eliminate any possible bias. Scores obtained from these testswere analyzed using Paired t-test and independent t-test. P values of less than0.05 were considered as significant.Results: The mean±SD scores of the students undergoing the traditionalmethod were 14.70±3.03 and 21.20±4.07 in the first and second test,respectively. In problem-based learning, the mean±SD scores were 15.82±3.29in the first and 27.52±4.72 in the second test. There was a significant differencebetween the mean scores of post-course exams of the two groups (p=0.001),while no significant difference was observed between the mean scores of precourseexams of the groups (p=0.55).Conclusion: It may be concluded that problem-based learning method leadsto a significant increase in learning and recalling output compared to thetraditional method. Given the evolving medical education in the country’smedical schools toward problem-based learning, it is suggested that thegrounds be laid so that this change will take place based on thought, principlesand problem solving.Keywords: Medical students, Education, Teaching, Problem based learning