Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Abstract BACKGROUND: Conducting online classes and assessment during the COVID‑19 pandemic is
not without challenges. The world of medical education is adapting online training and assessment
because of COVID‑19 pandemic restrictions. The present study was conducted to assess the
students’ perception regarding the process, difficulties encountered and perceived effectiveness of
online assessment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Online viva‑voce (theory and visual based) was conducted in
a government medical college in Karwar, Karnataka, India using videoconferencing application
(Google Meet) to 149 second MBBS students as a formative assessment in 2020 over 3 months.
Ten students per day joined Google Meet, 10 questions were asked to each student and assessed
using a tutor marking system (on‑spot). A feedback questionnaire (Google Form) was administered
to students who attended online Viva‑Voce. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential
statistics (Student’s t‑test).
RESULTS: Out of 149 students, 132 participated and responded to a feedback questionnaire.
Majority of the participants (91%) agreed that questions covered all topics kept for viva, 82% of
them felt it would be helpful for performance in final examinations. Thirty percent of students faced
network issues at their places, 45% felt nervous while facing viva in the presence of other students
and 35% of participants preferred online methods over traditional viva voce. Online viva voce can
be transparent (90%) and less biased (88%) if done in structured format.
CONCLUSION: Online viva‑voce may become relevant and effective in medical education
assessment with transparent marking system for students’ performance.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Simulation‑based training is an important strategy for skill development in a
competency‑based curriculum, especially so for laparoscopic surgery given its unique learning curve,
need for practice, and patient safety concerns. The study was conducted for postgraduates in two
surgical disciplines in a medical college tertiary care center. The study evaluates the acceptability and
utility of structured simulation‑based training for laparoscopic skills. Simulations provide deliberate
practice in the leaner supportive environment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The educational intervention was carried out among the 16
postgraduates from year 2 and year 3 of general surgery and obstetrics and gynecology. A structured
training and assessment module was designed and validated, and a 12‑week structured training
on laparoscopic box trainers was given to postgraduates under faculty guidance. Feedback
from postgraduates and faculty was obtained using separate validated questionnaires. The
pre‑ and post‑training assessment scores were compared applying the Wilcoxon matched‑pairs
signed‑rank (2‑tailed) test using the SPSS Windows Version 20.0 (IBM Corporation).
RESULTS: Sixteen postgraduates participated in the study. The median satisfaction score of the
postgraduates was 4 (range 3–5), a scale of a maximum of 5. The group identified faculty feedback,
stepwise skills learning, supportive learning environment, and trainers’ motivation as enabling factors
in the training. The faculty observed that the trainees were effectively engaged. The group mean
improvement scores in percentage were 40.08 for task 1, 42.08 for task 2, 43.13 for task 3, and
45.63 for task 4.
CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to incorporate faculty‑guided sessions of simulation training in basic
laparoscopy skills for postgraduates in our setup. It is well accepted by the key stakeholders, and
we recommend it to be incorporated in the formal training program.

Abstract BACKGROUND: With recent changes in the curriculum of bachelor of medicine and bachelor of
surgery  (MBBS) course to meet the global trends and to fulfill the standards expected from an
Indian medical graduate, introduction of newer teaching methodologies becomes mandatory. The
usage of flipped classroom (FCR) in medical education has always been rewarding. This study was
to evaluate the effectiveness of FCR as a teaching method in comparison with traditional lectures
in histology sessions in Sri Ramaswamy Memorial (SRM) Medical College Hospital and Research
Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This interventional study was conducted among the 1st year MBBS
students in SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre for a period of 1 year (2018–2019
academic year). The histology sessions were taught using both traditional lectures and FCR
methodology. Pre‑  and posttests were conducted for each traditional and FCR session with ten
multiple‑choice questions pertaining to that topic. Students’ performance was assessed by paired
t‑test (for pre‑ and posttest comparisons) and independent t‑test (for traditional and FCR posttest
mark comparison) using SPSS software version 26. A feedback survey based on Likert scale was
also conducted on the students and was analyzed. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: Posttest marks had statistically significantly improved when compared to pretest
marks (P  <  0.0001) in both traditional and FCR teaching methods. Comparison of posttest
marks showed statistically significantly higher marks in FCR when compared to traditional
teaching (P < 0.0001). Similarly, students’ feedback survey showed that FCR benefitted the students
in achieving the competency required.
CONCLUSION: FCR methodology of teaching histology had a very impressive outcome and the
students’ perception was very positive.

Abstract Abstract:
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Concept maps hold great potential for the students as it helps in
the formulation of new concepts as well to evaluate the learning ability of the students. However, the
use of concept maps as a teaching tool in medical students in India has not been explored, to the
best of our knowledge. This study was conducted to assess the use of concept maps in improving
learning among medical students.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted among III MBBS students belonging to
two batches. This study was carried out in two stages. In first stage, pretest was taken to test the
knowledge of students. Later, introductory class was taken on tuberculosis and concept map was
used to explain the given concept and later posttest was taken. In second stage, feedback was
taken from the students regarding the concept map. Pre‑ and post‑test results were compared using
Wilcoxon test.
RESULTS: Significant difference between pretest (4 ± 1.593) and posttest (10 ± 0.762) score was
seen (P < 0.0001). More than 50% of students scored full marks in posttest, whereas no one got full
marks in the pretest. Positive response (82.09%) was received from the students when feedback
was taken regarding the use of concept map.
CONCLUSION: Concept maps are found to be an effective teaching and learning tool for medical
students. They can be used to enhance meaningful learning in students and can be practiced more
in the students for better understandings of the concepts.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Feedback is an important part of the assessment process. However, one‑to‑one
structured and constructive feedback to the students is not practiced mostly due to lack of practice
and feasibility issues. The present study was conducted to understand the perception of students
and faculty toward one‑to‑one structured feedback.
METHODOLOGY: All the 3rd MBBS professional students were included in the study. An orientation
was given to the faculty regarding the importance of feedback and how to give structured feedback.
A standardized format was provided to the faculty for providing the feedback to the students. After
completion of the assessments, a one‑to‑one structured verbal feedback was given to all the
students. Thereafter, faculty and student’s perception on the feedback process was obtained through
questionnaires. A focused group discussion was also conducted among the students.
RESULTS: A total of 42 students participated in the study out of 50. A positive response was received
from all the students regarding the feedback. Nearly84.34% of the students acknowledged that
feedback is important for understanding their mistakes, 92.84% of the students responded positively
that feedback helps to build a good rapport with the teacher, and 92.85% of the students reported
that they were satisfied with the overall experience of receiving feedback. Most of the faculty (80%)
perceived that giving feedback after the assessment was a good idea. The faculty felt motivated
to give feedback to the students after the hands‑on experience. However, only 20% of the faculty
agreed that the process of feedback was easy to carry out (mean score: 2.2 ± 1.09).
CONCLUSION: The positive responses received from both the students and the faculty highlight
that the students are receptive toward feedback provided it is structured, constructive, and helps
them to achieve their learning goals.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Student evaluation of teaching (SET) is considered to be one of the most important
as well as inexpensive resources for sustaining professional development in medical teaching. The aim
of this project was to improve the quality of education in our medical college by using student feedback
as a tool for faculty development. However, it is also important to obtain teachers’ perceptions on SET.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was an educational research study conducted on a single
practical/tutorial batch of fourth‑semester students in pathology chosen by random selection.
Feedback regarding teaching was collected for all the teachers in the department of pathology
where the students had to rate the teachers on a scale of 1–5. Teachers’ perceptions on students’
feedback were gathered with the help of another structured prevalidated questionnaire containing
15 questions/items. The feedback data were obtained using a 5‑point Likert scale. The scores
obtained from the students’ evaluation data and the teachers’ perception data on the different items
were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0.
RESULTS: Significant findings from students’ feedback were that 80% of teachers had a median
score of >4 in explicit curriculum, indicating that most of the students agreed that the teachers teach
their core subject well. However, only 20% of teachers had a median score >4 in implicit curriculum.
Teachers, in their feedback, fully agreed that students should be involved in the evaluation of teachers
and that student feedback ensures the overall faculty development in the institute and can be used
as a tool for quality assurance in medical education.
CONCLUSION: Students’ feedback is one of the best methods of evaluation of teachers to ensure
the overall faculty development and quality assurance in medical education. Thus, a regular feedback
mechanism should be in place for the entire institution.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Given the importance of feedback to improve teachers’ educational performance,
the current study aimed to identify the challenges and problems involved in providing feedback to
clinical teachers on their educational performance.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the first phase of this mixed‑methods study, the clinical teachers,
students, and university officials were interviewed on feedback problems and challenges. After
an inductive content analysis, and based on the problems enlisted, a ten‑item questionnaire was
developed. Subsequently, 25 clinical teachers completed the questionnaire by scoring the importance
and urgency of each problem.
RESULTS: Overall, 18 individual and group interviews were conducted with 24 people. A total
of ten themes and five categories emerged, including “lack of transparency of feedback system,”
“absence of criticizability culture,” “lack of motivation to improve performance,” “failure to consider
factors affecting teacher’s performance,” “lack of formative evaluation,” “inappropriate data obtained
on teacher’s performance,” “inappropriate feedback providers,” “inappropriate feedback recipients,”
“inappropriate feedback provision,” and “no feedback follow‑up.” Three items of priority involved
“inappropriate feedback providers,” “inappropriate data,” and “failure to consider factors affecting
the teacher’s performance.”
CONCLUSIONS: All the raised problems obtained high scores; nevertheless, the interviewees had
more problems with the feedback provider, the data collected on the performance, and inattention
of university officials to the factors influencing performance than feedback presentation methods.
Hence, gaining the trust of teachers on the collected data, providing feedback by their trustworthy
individuals, and paying attention to the factors influencing teachers' performance are associated with
an increased possibility of feedback acceptance.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: In communication process, feedback plays a major role. Usually, a formal/informal
feedback is collected from students on their experience and understanding about the tasks given by
the mentor to assess the learning process. Receiving high‑quality feedback (positive or negative)
is valuable from multiple perspectives. Students may or may not enjoy sessions on innovative
teaching–learning methods; in that case, feedback helps to modify it into a more effective and
acceptable method of teaching.
METHODOLOGY: With an objective to understand the students’ perception on a smartphone app
in community‑based research, a cross‑sectional study was planned among undergraduate students
posted for the re‑orientation of medical education. Epicollect5, a mobile app, was used for data
capture. Students were requested to submit their feedback by using the same app which they had
used during the survey. The received feedback was analyzed and presented in proportions.
RESULTS: Students shared that the new tool was easy to install (97.5%), user friendly (100%),
saved time in data collection and data entry (100%), and they also missed the usual practice of
paper‑based questionnaire survey (12.5%) and data entry in excel sheet (7.5%).
CONCLUSION: The students liked and enjoyed the paperless method of data collection and entry
which saved time and improved the quality of the data. They were also interested to learn more on
the designing or framing the questionnaire in app and planned to use the app in future research. The
feedback conveyed the immense welcome for new technology by the students into medical curriculum.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to explore the student’s perspectives toward the interactive
lectures as a teaching and learning method in an integrated curriculum.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was conducted among 1st, 2nd and
3rd year male medical students (n = 121). A self‑administered questionnaire based on the Visual,
Auditory, Reader, Kinesthetic learning styles, learning theories, and role of feedback in teaching
and learning on five‑point Likert rating scale was used. The questionnaire was constructed after
extensive literature review.
RESULTS: There was an 80% response rate in this study. The total number of undergraduate medical
students responded in the study were n = 97, 34 students of 1st year, n = 30 students of 2nd year and
n = 33 student were in 3rd year, the mean scores of the student responses were calculated using
Independent samples Kruskal–Wallis. There was no significant difference in the responses of the
students of different years except for the question “The Interactive lectures facilitate effective use of
learning resources.” Which showed significant difference in the responses of the 3 years students by
Independent samples Kruskal–Wallis test. No significant association was found between the year of
study and items of the questionnaire except for the same item, “ The Interactive lectures facilitates
effective use of learning resources” by Spearman rank correlation test.
CONCLUSION: The students perceive interactive lecture as an effective tool for facilitating visual and
auditory learning modes, and for achieving curricular strategies. The student find the feedback given
during the interactive lectures is effective in modifying learning attitude and enhancing motivation
toward learning.