Comparison between traditional teaching and small groups teaching methods in teaching physiology respiratory system in medical students: Hormozgan university of medical science

Introduction: Lecture is the most applied method for teaching theory courses to medical students. This method is not accountable for the high current needs of students and leads to boring classes. This study was designed to assess the teaching effectiveness of active learning in small group sessions, compared with passive learning in didactic lectures. Methods: This study was carried out on Hormozgan University of medical sciences medical students. 45 students of respiratory physiology course were divided into 5 equal groups. Participant’s scores and their perceptions of effective small group teaching in the Physiology of Respiratory System component of the undergraduate curriculum were assessed. During this process 3 topics were selected to be instructed in lecture- based and 3 topics for small group discussion. The course began with oral lecture sessions and was continued with inductive teaching. For inductive teaching, the students became familiar with the topics, references and lesson plans of sessions and in every session were exposed to 10 questions. Following every 3 sessions, students competency were assessed by a written examination composed of long answer and multiple choice questions and students satisfaction toward used learning methods were measured using a structured questionnaire. Results: The results show that the students prefer small-group learning method over lecturing and achieved scores in small-group discussion sessions were significantly higher than lecture sessions. Conclusion: This study highlighted that small-group learning is a practical and effective method in teaching basic science to medical students. Further studies and working on tailormade methods for our country is suggested.