Perception of Sri Lankan medical students about teaching methods in medical schools.

Abstract

AIMS: Although English is a second language, Sri Lankan medical students are also taught using the same teaching methods used in developed countries where English is the 1st language because there are no data on Sri Lankan medical students' views and expectation about the teaching methods used in medical schools. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate Sri Lankan Medical students perception on teaching methods used in medical schools. METHODS: We evaluated views and expectations on teaching methods of 3rd and 4th year medical students of Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka in an observational study using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: 102 3rd-year (mean age 23.4 years, female 64.7%) and 96 4th-year (mean age 24.3 years, female 74.0%) medical students volunteered for the study. All students have had> 55/100 marks for English language at Ordinary level (O/L) (year 11) exam, but only 88% had > 55/100 marks for English language at Advanced level (NL) (year 13) exam. Majority of students were form not so rural areas; Gampaha - 33%, Kurunegala -15% and Colombo - 14%. Half of the students were from families where their parents have studied only up to O/L. 78% students preferred lectures while 10%, 7% and 6% liked problem based learning (PBL), practical sessions and tutorials respectively as the teaching method of choice, but there was no significant association with their English results. The main reasons why they liked lectures were that they can get expert knowledge (57%) by attending lectures and that the lecturer knows the subject well (12%) than when it is taught as a PBL by few non-experts. Majority preferred to have 45 minutes long (74%), multimedia assisted (89%), interactive (75%) lectures. More than 85% students liked if the lecturer highlights the important aspects and especially if they relate it to exam and to practice as a doctor, use simple language to explain the subject and if handouts were given at the end. However, only 52% and 57% students viewed respecting students and giving cognitive breaks in-between lectures are important. The main reasons for students to attend a particular lecture depended on if the lecturer is a good teacher (87%), importance of topic to exam (82%) and to carrier as a doctor (74%). But the decision to attend lecture was not much related to appearance of the lecturer (13%), how famous the lecturer is (29%), the fact that lecture handouts are not given (18%) or the lecture being compulsory (39%). CONCLUSION: Views and expectations of this sample Sri Lankan medical students on teaching methods used in medical schools are more or less similar to that of developed world.