Effectiveness of small group discussion sessions in teaching biochemistry for undergraduate medical students

Chetana P. Hadimani
2014 South-East Asian Journal of Medical Education  
Group discussions are at the centre of medical education as students learn more efficiently by small group discussions. Small group discussion (SGD) session as an instructional method is included in the curriculum of USM-KLE International medical program. The purpose of this paper is to depict student's perceptions in learning biochemistry through SGD, aimed at continuous medical educational development and will also be useful in other medical curriculum. Methods: The study was conducted for
more » ... st year undergraduate medical students of USM-KLE International medical program. An anonymous questionnaire was given to the group to elicit their perceptions about SGD. Forty students participated. The responses were obtained on a Likert scale to indicate their degree of agreement with the statements in the questionnaire. Results: Analysis showed that 62.5% students strongly agreed that by virtue of the SGD sessions understanding of the subject was better. 55% students strongly agreed that SGD facilitated active learning. However, 37.5% students strongly agreed that SGD sessions facilitated promoting clinical reasoning and communication skills. 65% students strongly agreed that SGD sessions enabled them to correlate biochemical concepts in context of a medical problem. Conclusion: In order to overcome the limitations of only lectures in a basic science subject, inclusion of an active teaching-learning SGD session facilitated students in better understanding of the subject, ability to apply biochemical principles to clinical cases and development of communication skills.
doi:10.4038/seajme.v8i1.129 fatcat:zpbkzvcgcjbvtn75kqmgaeohpi