Physiology teaching and learning experience in a new modular curriculum at the National University of Rwanda

In the present article, I report on my experience in teaching and learning physiology in the first year of a new modular curriculum at the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Rwanda. With self-reported questionnaires, I collected learning experience perceptions from 112 students who attended the module of physiology in 2008. The results showed satisfaction with active learning methods but complaints about the limited contact hours allocated to classroom lectures and practical classes. Student-centered learning was handicapped by the limited computer and internet access for students and by the limited number of textbooks in the library. In conclusion, the new teaching and learning style was appreciated by the students, but problems related to limited human and material resources need to be solved.