A Comparison of Effectiveness of Interactive Methods over Traditional Methods in Teaching Biochemistry to Undergraduate Medical Students

Background: New MCI curriculum has been introduced from august 2019 which is known as competency based medical education. Interactive teaching methods, which are given emphasis in CBME, can be used in large groups, small groups, pairs and individuals. The main aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of utilization of interactive tools in medical teaching. Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of interactive teaching and learning (ITL) methods over traditional teaching methods in understanding the biochemistry subject and also the perception of students towards them. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional intervention study with crossover design. Pre-designed and pre-validated semi-structured needs assessment and feedback questionnaire were used as study tools. After the needs assessment survey, an ITL module was developed including choosing topics, allocating teachers, interactive T/L methods, time, and assessment questionnaire for each topic. Four different interactive teaching learning methods were compared with traditional teaching learning including, think pair share, buzz session, case based learning and pass the problem. Results: 75% of the students responded as facing difficulty in understanding the content in biochemistry and having the view that traditional methods are not sufficient. 91 % of the students felt that biochemistry should be taught using interactive methods and 56% responded that biochemistry is the most difficult subject in first year. In student performance analysis after introducing ITL sessions (TPS, BS, CBL, and PTP ), it was revealed that 15%, 19%, 20%, and 18% of the students scored >75% in the intervention group compared to only 9%, 5%, 3%, and 2% in the other group where traditional teaching was carried out. This difference was statistically significant for sessions 1, 3 and 4. Conclusions: It was seen that student performance was increased in the interactive sessions. Therefore, it is recommended that there should be more inclusion of interactive teaching methods in undergraduate medical education