Use of prelecture assignment to enhance learning in pharmacology lectures for the 2(nd) year medical students

OBJECTIVES: Majority of teaching hours allotted by the Medical Council of India in pharmacology are utilized in the form of didactic lecture. Although these lectures are an excellent tool to deliver the information to a large group of students, it usually ends up as a one-sided teaching session with most students being the passive listeners. To make these lectures interesting and effective, we introduced the students to prelecture assignment (PLA) in the form of clinical case before the delivery of the lecture. METHODS: This prospective educational trial was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology with undergraduate medical students in their 2(nd) year of their professional course. They were divided into two groups of 75 each. Group A was provided the PLA before the lecture. Group B students directly attended the lecture, sans the PLA. Multiple-choice questions-based test was conducted 2 days after the lecture. Students who failed to complete the assignment and were absent from the lecture and test were excluded from the study. Feedback from the students was obtained after the lecture. The scores in the test and responses were compiled and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results were expressed in percentages and as mean ± standard deviation as applicable. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Fifty-six students from Group A and 42 from Group B appeared for the test. The students who were given PLA scored better. They felt more confident in answering and understood the topic better than the students of other group. CONCLUSION: PLA is a useful teaching-learning tool. The pharmacology lectures are interactive, interesting, and easy to understand with this tool.