07 March 2024
A recent study led by Assistant Professor Stella Loizou and her team explored the introduction of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) into the first year of a traditionally lecture-based medical curriculum. The research has been published in Health Professions Education journal, Volume 10, Issue 1, Article 12, and was authored by Drs Stella Loizou and Achilleas Pavlou from the Department of Basic and Clinical Sciences, along with Olivia Anne Cory and Daniel Thomas Ireland, F-year MBBS students (cohort 2023). The study focused on enhancing the conventional lecture-based teaching methods, which often fall short in preparing medical students for clinical problem-solving.
The participants were 254 students from four consecutive first-year cohorts of the 6-year undergraduate medical programme, who had varied levels of prior exposure to PBL. After participating in a PBL tutorial, these students completed a questionnaire to record their experiences. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis of the responses, the study aimed to assess the students’ satisfaction with PBL in comparison to traditional lectures.
The analysis revealed a strong preference among students for more PBL-based classes, indicating higher levels of interest and engagement than with traditional lecture-based learning. This positive response from students suggests the effectiveness of incorporating the PBL approach into the early stages of medical education.
For more information on this study, refer to “Introduction of PBL in the First Year of Traditional Medical Curriculum,” available online HERE.