Perspectives of nonmajor undergraduate students on the impact of group discussions in learning physiology

A 3-year study (2017-2019) was conducted to obtain the views of nonmajor undergraduate students about discussions in learning physiology. The teaching methods used were lecture only (lecture), group discussion alone (discussion), and a combination of lecture and discussion (lecture + discussion). Students were assigned homework in a textbook, and they did not have access to textbook/notes during discussions. Under these conditions, 58% of students indicated that they learned best with lecture + discussion strategy, compared with 49% for lecture and 18% for discussion approaches. Remarkably, 61% of students said the discussion did not enhance learning; by comparison, 35% and 14% had the same views about lecture and lecture + discussion, respectively. Furthermore, if given the opportunity to choose a teaching/learning environment, 66% of students would select lecture + discussion, 33% would pick lecture, and only 6% would choose discussion setting. As many as 77% of students would reject the discussion setting if given the choice. The opinions of students were similar irrespective of their expected grades (whether A, B, or C); however, greater proportions of B or C students disliked discussion than A students. Thus, whereas 63% of A students disliked discussion, 81% of B students and 83% of C students disliked it. Also, 64% of students indicated that they would have been poorly prepared for classes without assigned homework. Essential outcomes of this study include undergraduates viewed the lecture + discussion setting as a supportive/desirable environment for learning physiology, and they consistently rated the lecture method higher than the discussion-only approach. Students did not relish learning physiology in a discussion-only setting. These findings may help in establishing teaching/learning environments from the student's perspective.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article reports perspectives of nonmajor undergraduates about group discussions in learning physiology. Three teaching methods were used: traditional lecture alone (lecture), discussion alone (discussion), and combined lecture and discussion (lecture + discussion). Students rated lecture + discussion setting as the most conducive for learning. The rank order of student preference for learning environment was, first, lecture + discussion; second, lecture; and third, discussion. These opinions were similar irrespective of expected grades in the course. Enjoyment of the teaching/learning process and environment is important to students.