A comparison of educational interventions. Multimedia textbook, standard lecture, and printed textbook.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the instructional effectiveness and efficiency of a pediatric multimedia textbook (MMTB) with that of a standard lecture and of a printed textbook in a prospective, interinstitutional study. DESIGN: Randomized, prospective cohort. SETTINGS: An urban and a rural medical school affiliated with tertiary care hospitals. POPULATION: Third- and fourth-year medical students from June 1992 to June 1993. INTERVENTIONS/OUTCOME MEASURES: Students were randomized to one of four treatment groups: (1) computer-aided instruction with MMTBs (n = 39), (2) traditional lecture (n = 39), (3) printed textbook (n = 39), or (4) a control group (n = 62). Only the control group was pretested. Following their randomized instruction, all groups were tested via a 26-question multiple-choice test. Statistical analysis was accomplished by analysis of variance of mean post-test scores. The amount of time that students spent with each educational intervention was recorded. RESULTS: Three hundred two students were eligible for the study, 267 entered the study, and 179 completed the study. The instructional effectiveness of the MMTB was greater than that of the lecture (P < .05), and it was the same as that of the printed textbook. All instructional methods were more effective than the control group (P < .05). The instructional efficiency of the MMTB was equal to that of the lecture and of the printed textbook. The subjective response to the MMTB instruction was positive. CONCLUSION: The MMTBs constitute an educationally sound alternative instructional method and have a promising future in medical education.

Influence of a computer database and problem exercises on students' knowledge of bacteriology.

This study compared the performances of students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine who had access to sets of problem exercises and a computer database to support their learning of bacteriology with the performances of students at the University of Iowa College of Medicine who did not have such access. The study also examined the extent of a student's database use as a predictor of posttest performance. The students studied were randomly selected groups of 32-44 first-year students per year at each school; the study was conducted in three academic years (1988-1990) with some modifications in the intervention as the host environment evolved. The criterion measure was a posttest created from the same pool of problems used to generate the problem sets. The students at the intervention school scored significantly higher on the posttest in two of the three years, and overall. Also in two of the three years and overall, there was a significant relationship between the extent of a student's database use and his or her posttest score. Although the observed effects may have been due to other factors in this quasi-experimental design, the authors conclude that the use of problem sets and a computer database had a positive influence on the students' learning.

Refinement of the Iowa Self-Assessment Inventory.

Two samples of older respondents (N = 1,153 and N = 420) were used in the refinement of the Iowa Self-Assessment Inventory (ISAI). Factor analyses based on data obtained from these samples resulted in modification of the original six-scale inventory to an inventory of seven scales: economic resources, anxiety/depression, physical health, alienation, mobility, cognitive status, and social support. The original ISAI was shortened from 120 to 56 items.