Utilizing Audience Response to Foster Evidence-based Learning in a Pilot Study: Does It Really Work?

Introduction Radiology residency programs are increasingly using audience response systems (ARS) in educational lectures. It is imperative that this is investigated to assess if learning outcomes in trainees are actually improved. Methods The primary objective of this randomized prospective unblinded pilot study was to assess the effect of ARS on long-term learning outcomes, with a secondary objective of understanding perceptions of ARS amongst radiology residents. Twenty-two radiology residents were randomized into two groups of 11 residents each receiving five identical musculoskeletal (MSK) radiology lectures. One group received lectures through ARS and the other through traditional didactics. A pretest and identical posttest were completed by all residents at baseline and eight months later, respectively. Residents also completed a pre and post five-question Likert scale survey designed to measure perceptions of ARS. Results Wilcoxon rank sum tests revealed no statistically significant difference between the two groups of residents on the pretest (p = 0.47) or the posttest (p = 0.41). Of the five questions designed to gauge perceptions of ARS, "How often do you study radiology outside of work?" resulted in statistical significance between groups after the lecture series via ordinal logistic regression, with the ARS group six times more likely to study compared to the non-ARS group (Odds ratio = 6.52, P = 0.04, 95% Confidence Interval [1.1, 38.2]). There was no statistical difference in response to this question prior to the lecture series. Discussion Use of ARS was associated with increased likelihood of studying radiology without significant difference in long-term learning outcomes.