Incorporating engaged learning into medical student large group sessions

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Purpose: In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on active and engaged learning in medical education. The purpose of this study was to determine medical student satisfaction and performance in a module where 44% of the educational time was spent in a combination of large group engaged learning sessions and at-home modules. Methods: Over two years a week-long dermatology course was transitioned to a format that included numerous large group interactive sessions. Course satisfaction results, exam performance, and a questionnaire on engaged learning were assessed. Results: Overall course satisfaction improved from 94% to 99% of students ranking the course as good or excellent as did the percent of students who rated lecture delivery as engaging (88% to 98%). The percent of students responding that the module provided opportunities for collaboration among students rose from 50% to 92%. We took away a number of learning points from these sessions based on student feedback, including a need to be sensitive to the time required for pre-class learning modules and the format of such modules. Conclusions: Based on student feedback, we found that large group teaching was effective in fostering collaboration as well as improving self-reported comprehension and overall course satisfaction.