Authors
Departments of Pharmacology, School of Medical Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The curriculum of pathology is conventionally “taught” in a series of didactic lectures,
which promotes learning by rote. In this study, case-based learning (CBL) was introduced to assess
its effect on higher order cognition and problem-solving skills in undergraduate medical students.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The prescribed syllabus of hepatobiliary system was delivered to the
undergraduate medical students of the fourth semester by conventional didactic lectures. A pretest,
which contained questions designed to test both analysis and recall, was administered, followed
by CBL sessions, in the presence of a facilitator, encouraging active discussion among students.
Students were then assessed using a similar posttest. The perceptions of the students and the faculty
were gathered by means of feedback questionnaires. The scores obtained by the students in the
pre- and post-test were compared by paired t-test.
RESULTS: Eighty-one students participated in CBL sessions, with 95.06% expressing a desire for
more such sessions, preferably in all the topics. The faculty members also felt that CBL would be
benefi cial for the students but opined that it should be restricted to some topics. CBL was found
to cause a highly signifi cant (P < 0.0001) improvement in the students’ higher levels of cognition,
whereas the lower orders of cognition remained unaffected (P = 0.2048).
CONCLUSIONS: CBL promotes active learning and helps in the development of critical thinking and
analysis in undergraduate medical students. Although it is resource-intensive, an attempt should be
made to incorporate it along with lectures in clinically important topics.
Keywords
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