Effectiveness of the use of clickers versus group discussion in learning by undergraduate medical students

BACKGROUND: The evolution of Medical learning shows the incorporation of modern technology in teaching, learning, assessment, and medical practice. Clickers are easy to use, and provide instantaneous feedback on the student’s comprehension of the information given. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of clickers in undergraduate medical students’ learning by comparing clickers’ scores with group discussion scores. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional comparative study with cross-over design was conducted for 6 months on 80 students of Phase III Part I MBBS. After an interactive lecture on diarrhea with a community medicine perspective, the students were divided into two groups, A and B, each consisting of 40 students. Group B students were further divided into five subgroups of eight students each. Group A students were assessed with clickers, Group B with group discussion and the cross-over done after 2 weeks. A questionnaire was used to assess the perceptions of the students on the use of clickers. Academic performance scores of the students were compared within the groups at different times (i.e. immediately after the interactive lecture and after 1(st) week and 2(nd) weeks) and between the two main groups. Data analysis was performed using SPSS. Mean and standard deviations were calculated for quantitative variables, whereas categorical data was presented as frequencies and proportions. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis technique. RESULTS: The mean age of students was 20.4 (SD=0.6) years. The mean scores for the students using clickers were significantly higher than the mean scores for the students using group discussion. Most of the students (78.8%) either agreed or strongly agreed that the “clickers were easy to use.” CONCLUSION: The study concluded that the academic performance of medical undergraduate students using clickers was better than the performance of the students using group discussions.