Table of Contents  
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2015  |  Volume : 8  |  Issue : 6  |  Page : 739-743  

Student's preference of various audiovisual aids used in teaching pre- and para-clinical areas of medicine


Department of Pathology, Malla Reddy Medical College for Women, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Date of Web Publication19-Nov-2015

Correspondence Address:
Navatha Vangala
Department of Pathology, Malla Reddy Medical College for Women, Hyderabad, Telangana
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/0975-2870.169912

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  Abstract 

Introduction: The formal lecture is among the oldest teaching methods that have been widely used in medical education. Delivering a lecture is made easy and better by use of audiovisual aids (AV aids) such as blackboard or whiteboard, an overhead projector, and PowerPoint presentation (PPT). Objective: To know the students preference of various AV aids and their use in medical education with an aim to improve their use in didactic lectures. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out among 230 undergraduate medical students of first and second M.B.B.S studying at Malla Reddy Medical College for Women, Hyderabad, Telangana, India during the month of November 2014. Students were asked to answer a questionnaire on the use of AV aids for various aspects of learning. Results: This study indicates that students preferred PPT, the most for a didactic lecture, for better perception of diagrams and flowcharts. Ninety-five percent of the students (first and second M.B.B.S) were stimulated for further reading if they attended a lecture augmented by the use of visual aids. Teacher with good teaching skills and AV aids (58%) was preferred most than a teacher with only good teaching skills (42%). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that lecture delivered using PPT was more appreciated and preferred by the students. Furthermore, teachers with a proper lesson plan, good interactive and communicating skills are needed for an effective presentation of lecture.

Keywords: Audio-visual aids, medical education, paraclinical, preclinical


How to cite this article:
Vangala N. Student's preference of various audiovisual aids used in teaching pre- and para-clinical areas of medicine. Med J DY Patil Univ 2015;8:739-43

How to cite this URL:
Vangala N. Student's preference of various audiovisual aids used in teaching pre- and para-clinical areas of medicine. Med J DY Patil Univ [serial online] 2015 [cited 2024 Mar 28];8:739-43. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/mjdy/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?2015/8/6/739/169912


  Introduction Top


A medical college in India is an educational institution that provides education and training related to all aspects of medical care. The term is synonymous with "medical school" as used in other countries. The formal lecture is among the oldest teaching methods that have been widely used in higher education for centuries. [1] Traditionally, formal lecturing of a subject has been the presentation of a large "bolus" of knowledge, swallowed and often only partially digested during the year of study. [2] This formal instruction has often been in the form of a didactic or authoritarian lecture. The noun "lecture" is derived from the Latin word "lectus" [3] which means "oral discourse on a given subject before an audience for purposes of instruction." They are a one-way delivery of information that may be interrupted by questions and perhaps even some discussion. They are especially useful when a large number of learners must be taught at one time and are powerful techniques for getting across a large amount of theoretical information. The other strength of lectures is the ability to support a complementary study of books or other material, by amplifying or explaining key points. Thus, a well-organized lecture remains one of the most effective ways to integrate and organize information from multiple sources on complex topics. [1]

Delivering a lecture is made easy and better by use of audiovisual aids (AV aids) such as blackboard or whiteboard, an overhead projector (OHP), and PowerPoint presentation (PPT). [2] This study was done to know the students preference of various AV aids and their role in medical education with an aim to improve their use in didactic lectures. The rationale behind the study was to investigate the attitude of medical students toward audiovisual aids and their usage in teaching at undergraduate level.


  Materials and Methods Top


The present study was carried out among 230 undergraduate (UG) medical students of first and second M.B.B.S studying at Malla Reddy Medical College for Women, Hyderabad, Telangana, India during the month of November 2014. The study was conducted after taking the approval from the dean and Institutional Ethics Committee. Students were asked to complete a questionnaire on the use of AV aids, and their participation was on a purely voluntary basis. The questionnaire also included information on the nationality of the students and on medium of instruction at primary and secondary education. The questionnaire used in the study is shown in the Appendix [Additional file 1]. The students were asked to answer honestly and legibly and to encircle the appropriate answers wherever required. No personal identifying information was included.


  Results Top


About 122 students of first M.B.B.S. and 108 students of second M.B.B.S. participated in the study. All the students who participated in the study responded and this excludes the students who were absent on the day of the study. Students were asked to answer the questionnaire and not to skip any questions and if there were any doubts regarding any question they were clarified instantly. So, all of them who participated in the study answered all the questions. The responses for the questionnaire were sought out and the statistics were calculated using Microsoft Excel Sheet. Eighty percent participants had their schooling in English medium and the visual aid predominantly used in the schools was blackboard (88%). All the students (100%) agreed to the statement that there is a necessity of AV aids while teaching. Eighty-seven percent of students agreed that AV aids help them in self-motivation and student participation. In this study, students preferred PPT the most followed by a combination of PPT and blackboard for a didactic lecture and for better perception of diagrams and flowcharts [Table 1] and [Table 2]. So, the most preferred AV aid of all was PPT. Blackboard was the most preferred aid for listening and understanding a particular topic that did not involve complex diagrams. First M.B.B.S. students preferred PPT while the second M.B.B.S students preferred blackboard as the most useful aid in taking notes. Ninety-five percent of the students (first and second M.B.B.S) were stimulated for further reading if they attended a lecture that was augmented by the use of visual aids. Most of the students were interested in taking notes (58%) during class compared to handouts (42%). The reason stated for writing notes was, it helps them to remember the concept and also helps in revising the topic in future. The reason stated for preferring handouts was that it helps them in paying more attention to the lecture resulting in better understanding of the topic. The most preferred AV aid for individual pre- and para-clinical subjects was asked, and it was PPT for anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, and pathology [Table 3] and [Table 4]. A combination of PPT and blackboard was preferred for physiology, forensic medicine, and pharmacology. Teacher having good teaching skills and AV aids (58%) was preferred most than a teacher with only good teaching skills (42%). Eighty percent of the students expressed that the maximum time they can pay attention to a class taught by a teacher having good teaching skills and AV aids was 40-45 min and to a teacher with only good teaching skills was 30-35 min.
Table 1: First M.B.B.S. student's preference of visual aids for various aspects of learning

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Table 2: Second M.B.B.S. student's preference of audiovisual aids for various aspects of learning

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Table 3: Subject wise preference of audiovisual aid by fi rst M.B.B.S. students

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Table 4: Subject wise preference of audiovisual aid by second M.B.B.S. students

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  Discussion Top


Medical education and training vary considerably across the world. Various teaching methodologies have been utilized in medical education, which is an active area of educational research. [4] It includes a mixture of didactic lectures with AV aids, practical experiments, clinical teaching, and problem-based learning methods. A lecture facilitates large-class communication and can be used to arouse interest in a subject. It may be interrupted by questions and perhaps even some discussion, but places student in a passive rather than an active role, which hinders learning. It encourages only one-way communication, and it requires the instructor to have or to learn effective writing and speaking skills. [5] Maximum benefit of AV aids is obtained only in conjunction with a well-structured lecture by a teacher having good interactive and teaching skills. Subjects ranging from preclinical and basic sciences such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, paraclinical subjects such as pharmacology, pathology, forensic medicine, microbiology, community medicine, and clinical subjects such as ENT, ophthalmology, medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, and orthopedics are taught to UG medical students. [6] The use of AV aids for teaching and learning process also helped in the growth of the organization by facilitating a healthy atmosphere to the students as well as the teacher. Apperson et al. through their study found that AV aids were very helpful in improvising the pronunciation as well as helped to improvise their vocabulary. [7] Brecht found that AV aids act as a very fruitful tutoring resource for the students. [8] Kaur through her study came to know that the use of AV aids is not bounded to a particular type of student; rather it is beneficiary for high, medium, and low learners as well. [9] Mathew et al. through their study found that these aids play a major role to overcome the drawback of monotonous verbal class. [10] In the present college where the study has been done apart from practical experiments and clinical teaching, teachers use AV aids such as blackboard and PPT more commonly than OHP and whiteboard. This study was conducted to know the students view on the use of AV aids during didactic lectures in a medical college.

Of 230 students (first and second M.B.B.S.), 95% of the respondents stated that the use of AV aids stimulates thinking for further in depth reading and improves learning. [11] Kumar et al. study indicates that lectures based on the use of combination of teaching tools are more appreciated by students. [6] In our study, the students showed a preference for the use of PPT during the didactic lectures [Table 1] and [Table 2]. The reason mentioned was, a lecture taught using PPT with good explanation was more than sufficient for better understanding of the topic and especially PPT with dynamic images that could move or be maneuvered by the presenter has more impact.

The most preferred AV aid for individual pre- and para-clinical subjects was asked, and it was PPT for anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology and pathology [Table 3] and [Table 4]. A combination of PPT and blackboard was preferred for physiology, forensic medicine, and pharmacology correlating with Mohan et al. study. [4]

Various advantages and limitations were stated by the students for each AV aid used. The advantages in using the blackboard were better understanding, more concentration and attention, more scope for discussion, active participation, more communication, more time to take notes (while listening to topic) and most of all they are used to it right from the time of schooling. The disadvantages mentioned were visibility, unable to make out real pictures, time-consuming, and at times dull with only theory and no pictures.

The advantages mentioned with the use of OHP were; microscopic pictures can be shown and stepwise approach toward the concept. The disadvantages mentioned were less interaction, reuse of faded sheets, and their maintenance.

The advantages mentioned with use of PPT were better understanding, visibility, time saving, more interesting, stepwise approach, and especially real-time pictures can be well understood using corresponding images and videos. The disadvantages were; taking notes is difficult if slides are changed fastly and gets distracted if there is no explanation and when slides are just read.

There are various techniques by which lectures can be made effective. The suggestions made to improve the use of blackboard were to use only white colored chalk for text and colored chalks for figures. The size of the letter should be increased for better visibility. Handwriting should be clear, fast to save time and all the key words should be highlighted in writing. Complex diagrams should be drawn before the class to save time. OHP can be used to show histology and histopathology pictures. Multicolor usage on the plastic transparency sheets, good and clear handwriting, and good illumination for proper visualization can be done to improve OHP. [12] The use of PPT can be improved by explaining the concept using less text and not just read the slide. Each slide should be explained for at least 2-3 min, thereby allowing students to take notes. More diagrams, three-dimensional pictures, and videos can be incorporated into the PPT for better understanding. The main suggestion made by most of the students is, the use of visual aids should finally make the topic clear and understandable. [13]

Generalized suggestions made to improve teaching were; teachers should interact [14] more with students, asking questions for every 15 min to revise what was taught and tell some experiences or stories relating to the topic. Students do believe that they enjoy teaching through these tools as it totally changes the atmosphere of the class and makes the class more interactive. [15]


  Conclusion Top


The formal lecture is the most widely used teaching method for centuries which can be made effective by the use of AV aids. Our study demonstrates that lecture delivered using PPT was more appreciated and preferred by the students especially in pre- and para-clinical areas of medicine such as anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology and pathology, a combination of PPT, and blackboard was preferred for physiology, forensic medicine, and pharmacology. In addition to the use of AV aids, a proper lesson plan with good interactive and communicating skills makes the lecture more effective.

 
  References Top

1.
Large Classes: A Teaching Guide: Lecturing. Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning: CIRTL Network. Available from: http://www.cte.umd.edu/library/teachingLargeClass/guide/. [Last accessed on 2014 Dec 17].  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Mohan L, Sankar PR, Kamath A, Manish MS, Eesha BR. Students′ attitudes towards the use of audio-visual aids during didactic lecture in pharmacology. J Clin Diagn Res 2010; 4:3363-8.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Medical Education. Available from: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_education. [Last accessed on 2014 Dec 17].  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Lecture. Available from: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecture. [Last accessed on 2014 Dec 17].  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Lecturing: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Traditional Lecture Method Adapted with Permission from the Office of Instructional Resources, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. Available from: http://www.cirtl.net/print/book/export/html/2570. [Last accessed on 2014 Dec 15].  Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.
Kumar A, Singh R, Mohan L, Kumar MK. Student′s views on AV aids used during didactic lectures in a medical college. Asian J Med Sci 2013;4:36-40.  Back to cited text no. 6
    
7.
Apperson JM, Laws EL, Scepansky JA. An assessment of student preferences for power point presentation structure in undergraduate courses. Comput Educ 2006;47:116-26.  Back to cited text no. 7
    
8.
Brecht HD. Learning from online video lectures. J Inf Technol Educ Innov Pract 2012;11:227-50.  Back to cited text no. 8
    
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Kaur N. Effectiveness of audio-visual aids for teaching english poetry at secondary level. Int J Res Educ Methodol 2012;1:47-9.  Back to cited text no. 9
    
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Mathew NG, Alidmat AO. A study on the usefulness of audio-visual aids in EFL classroom: Implications for effective instruction. Int J High Educ 2013;2:86-92.  Back to cited text no. 10
    
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Kausar G. Students′ perspective of the use of AV aids in Pakistan. Int Proc Econ Dev Res 2013;68:11-3.  Back to cited text no. 11
    
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Shah HK. Overhead projector - A versatile teaching tool. Indian J Community Med 2006;31:108.  Back to cited text no. 12
    
13.
Golden AS. Lecture skills in medical education. Indian J Pediatr 1989;56:29-34.  Back to cited text no. 13
    
14.
Silverthorn DU. Teaching and learning in the interactive classroom. Adv Physiol Educ 2006;30:135-40.  Back to cited text no. 14
    
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Khan AS. Technology′s Role on Student′s Behavior. Vol. 24. Proceedings 10 th International Conference on Statistical Sciences; 2013. p. 13-22.  Back to cited text no. 15
    



 
 
    Tables

  [Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3], [Table 4]



 

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