Pre and post-lecture test scores for assessment of short term effectiveness of didactic lectures in anatomy and as a predictor for performance in summative evaluation.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Didactic lectures play an important role as a method of student instruction in anatomy in India. The aims of the present study were to quantify whether students' derived any short term benefit from didactic lectures and to assess whether their performance in tests based on the lecture was a good indicator of their performance at the end of the year university examinations. Method: A total of eight theory classes, four each on embryology and gross anatomy, for sixty first year undergraduate medical students were conducted. At the beginning of each class, the students were administered a pre-lecture test. The post-lecture test was administered after the lecture. Subsequently, the marks obtained by the students in the theory component of the end of the year university examination in anatomy were noted and used for further correlation analysis using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Paired and unpaired t tests (2 tailed) were performed to check for significant differences in the pre and post-lecture test scores for each class. The mean scores in the pre and post-lecture test scores for each student over the eight classes were used in correlation analysis. Results: In all eight classes, the mean post-lecture test scores were significantly greater than the mean pre-lecture test scores. There was a significant positive correlation between mean post-lecture test scores and university exam scores. Conclusion: Tests incorporated into didactic lectures may be a useful method not only to improve students' benefit from lectures, but also to predict their performance in the theory component of the university examination.