Feasibility, effectiveness, and students’ attitude toward using WhatsApp in histology teaching and learning

OBJECTIVE: The present study assessed the feasibility, effectiveness, and students’ attitude toward histology teaching using WhatsApp. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted 6 months of histology teaching session on a “Histology learning WhatsApp group” consisting of 250 1(st)-year medical graduate students at Dr. S.N. Medical College, Jodhpur. A teacher posted a digital image of histology slides created using a mobile camera; a slide diagram sketched using hematoxylin and eosin pencil, identification points, and detail description of slide followed by discussion of queries. The feasibility was measured by adequate enrollment of students in the WhatsApp group, drop-out rate during the teaching period, acceptability of the by students based on their feedback, and perception of the teacher. To study the effectiveness, we conducted an online test pre- and posttests after every 2 months. The Student's attitude WhatsApp learning was assessed using the prevalidated feedback questionnaire. RESULTS: All the 1(st)-year medical graduate students admitted in the year 2016 enrolled and most of them were actively participated in the discussion conducted on WhatsApp group with zero dropout rate. Students’ feedback indicated that students enjoyed learning using WhatsApp with better participation than traditional teaching method. Students liked anytime, anywhere learning using WhatsApp and it helped them to clear doubts. The statistical difference between average pre- and posttest scores (6.54 ± 2.33 and 16.37 ± 3.32, respectively) were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that histology teaching using WhatsApp learning group is feasible, effective, and student-friendly method. It should be used more frequently to complement traditional teaching.