Comparing experiential versus conventional learning on knowledge retention for teaching surgery to medical graduates

PURPOSE: The study aims to evaluate and see if experiential learning theory for teaching cataract surgery can improve the ability of students to retain more knowledge compared to the classical or traditional way of teaching. METHODS: A pre and post control group design of 32 graduates was conducted in 2016 at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to examine the effect of experiential learning as an applicable way for teaching cataract surgery. The total of graduates including males and females were divided into control and experimental groups to which the educational materials about cataract surgery were presented as a lecture and as wet lab session respectively. All the data collected were entered in SPSS version 22 for analysis and a P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Both control and experimental groups showed good retention rate of knowledge. However, the gain of knowledge was more in the Wet lab group. The scores mean increased more than 5 points in this group compared to 2.5 points only in the lecture groups. CONCLUSION: Both teaching modalities were effective in improving the knowledge rate of the students. However, in the experiential learning group (Wet lab group), the gain of knowledge was higher compared to that in the traditional group (lecture group).