Attendance Improves Student Electrocardiography Interpretation Skills Using the Flipped Classroom Format

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cardiovascular Disease Education

Background:

• Classroom capture and casting technologies increase content accessibility and flexibility.
• This flexibility impacts the necessity of physical attendance for accessing course material.
• Previous studies explored attendance trends and their effect on student outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of attending classroom activities on student performance in an undergraduate pre-clinical cardiology course.
• To compare the effect of attendance on performance across two distinct content delivery methods: flipped classroom and lecture-based.

Main Methods:

• The study utilized a flipped classroom format for teaching electrocardiography (ECG) interpretation, allowing for faculty-guided skill practice.
• Lecture-based delivery was used for other course components covering cardiovascular disease diagnosis, treatment, and management.
• Student performance was compared between attending and non-attending students for each delivery method.

Main Results:

• Students who attended classroom activities demonstrated superior performance in ECG interpretation compared to their non-attending peers.
• No significant performance advantage was observed for attending students in content delivered via traditional lectures.
• The findings suggest attendance benefits are modality-dependent.

Conclusions:

• Students can make informed decisions about prioritizing their time by considering the teaching modality when choosing whether to attend class.
• Curricular changes can be guided by this information to identify activities with clear attendance benefits for students.
• This research aids educational programs in optimizing course design for improved student outcomes.