The application of flipped classroom combined with team-based learning in the orthopedic clinical teaching

Medical education has evolved rapidly, with the development of flipped classrooms and team-based learning based on lecture-based learning, but the novel model of combining flipped classrooms with team-based learning has been poorly investigated in orthopedic education.

A femoral neck fracture teaching mode was chosen to 109 clinical internship students to explore the effectiveness of flipped classroom combined with team-based learning in internship education. They were enrolled and randomly divided into either the flipped classroom combined with team-based learning group (FTG, n = 55) or the traditional lecture-based classroom group (n = 54). All students completed the learning according to the course flow and took before-class and after-class tests. The questionnaires were used to compare students perceptions and satisfaction with the different teaching methods and were utilized to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the 2 groups.

The post-class test scores of both groups significantly improved compared to pre-class test scores. Regarding the post-class test scores, FTG's was significantly higher than the traditional lecture-based classroom group's, mainly in clinical areas such as imaging analysis, fracture classification, treatment options, and management of postoperative complications, but there was no significant difference in the mastery of basic theoretical knowledge. The students were more satisfied with the FTG and believed that it improved their various competencies, but with significantly more time spent.

FTG is generally recognized as a promising option for training clinical interns and is worth spreading as it has outstanding merits in developing students clinical competence.