Interactive laboratory classes enhance neurophysiological knowledge in Thai medical students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physiology Learning
• Active Learning Strategies

Background:

• Active learning methods are underutilized in Thai medical education.
• Interactive Laboratory Classes (ILCs) promote correlation between practical findings and lecture material.
• This study investigates ILCs' effectiveness and acceptability in Thai medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of ILCs on physiology knowledge acquisition.
• To determine if ILCs benefit both high-performing and low-performing students.
• To assess the acceptability of ILCs as a novel teaching method.

Main Methods:

• Two hundred seventy-eight second-year medical students participated in three ILC sessions.
• Pre- and post-ILC multiple-choice assessments measured knowledge gain.
• Repeated-measures ANOVA and unpaired t-tests analyzed data, with subgroup analysis for performance levels.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in post-ILC test scores compared to pre-ILC scores were observed across all sessions.
• Both low-performing and high-performing student groups showed significant knowledge improvement.
• A majority of students reported enhanced knowledge, increased discussion opportunities, and greater learning motivation.

Conclusions:

• Interactive Laboratory Classes effectively enhance medical students' physiology knowledge, irrespective of prior academic performance.
• ILCs are perceived as a useful and acceptable active learning method by Thai medical students.
• This study supports the integration of active learning approaches in physiology education across different cultural contexts.