Concept and benefits of the Inverted Classroom method for a competency-based biochemistry course in the pre-clinical stage of a human medicine course of studies

• Published in: GMS journal for medical education 2017-01, Vol.34 (3), p.Doc31-Doc31
• Main Authors: Kühl, Susanne J, Toberer, Matthias, Keis, Oliver, Tolks, Daniel, Fischer, Martin R, Kühl, Michael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Achievement; Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Biochemistry; Biochemistry - education; Cohort Studies; Competency-Based Education - organization & administration; competency-based training; Computer-Assisted Instruction - standards; Curriculum; E-Learning; Education, Medical - organization & administration; Female; Germany; human medicine; Humans; Inverted Classroom; Male; Masterplan Medizin 2020; Motivation; NKLM; Students, Medical - psychology
• ISSN: 2366-5017; 2366-5017
• DOI: 10.3205/zma001108

Medical students often have a problem recognising the relevance of basic science subjects for their later professional work in the pre-clinical stage of their studies. This can lead to a lower motivation to learn biochemical content and dissatisfaction in the courses amongst the students. Alternative teaching methods such as the Inverted Classroom (IC) method can address this deficiency. The goal of this study was: to analyse the motivation and satisfaction of the students in a biochemistry seminar through the use of the e-learning-based IC method, to investigate the acceptance against the IC teaching method in biochemistry, and to compare the learning success achieved using the IC approach with that of a traditional course. We also investigated how a biochemistry course in the pre-clinical stage of a human medicine course of studies can be successfully organised according to the IC method. Furthermore, we examined the benefits of the IC method over conventional teaching formats. The IC method was implemented in accordance with the guidelines of the GMA committee "New Media" [30] in a biochemistry seminar for two student IC intervention groups with 42 students. A part of the factual knowledge from the on-site phase in the form of teaching videos together with self-learning control tasks were provided online before the seminar for both IC intervention groups. Exporting content to the self-learning phase creates new free time in the on-site phase, during which the content can be critically considered and processed and additional competency-based learning objectives can be taught. Identical biochemistry teaching content was taught in parallel control groups (14 student groups with n=299 students), but no material was handed out beforehand for a self-learning phase. These students only received the materials after the on-site phase. Motivation and satisfaction as well as the acceptance for the teaching methods were recorded by questionnaires, the acquisition of knowledge by MC exams. On a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree), the students in the IC intervention groups could be seen to be much more motivated (5.53) than students in the control group (4.01). Students in the IC intervention groups also recognised the relevance of the learning content much more clearly (5.44) than students in the control group (4.01). Furthermore, the IC group also observed that additional competencies were trained in addition to the biochemistry content.