Effectiveness of Self-directed Learning to Teach Biochemistry in Phase 1 MBBS Students

ABSTRACT

The effectiveness of introducing Self-directed Learning (SDL) activity in teaching Biochemistry in Phase 1 MBBS Students was studied by measuring learning gain before and after SDL session. The SDL sessions were conducted among 3 groups of Students (Group A, n = 88; group B, n = 66 and Group C, n = 46; Total, n = 200) according to their learning needs. SDL was found to improve test scores significantly in all three groups. The perception of the Undergraduate Medical Students on SDL was also collated in this study by close ended question (in Likert scale) and open-ended questions. Perception analysis showed that majority of the Students agreed that SDL sessions are beneficial and interesting. However, thematic analysis showed that most of the Students considered SDL to be more time consuming. The questions were found to be reliable in present setting by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.893). It seems to be essential to find out the topics where students need special guidance and which topics will be chosen for SDL.