Comparative Study of the Flipped Classroom and Traditional Lecture Methods in Anatomy Teaching

Background The National Medical Commission (NMC), the regulatory body for medical education in India introduced competency-based medical education (CBME) in 2019. It is an outcome-based learner-centric approach. To implement it, active and innovative learning strategies are being introduced. A flipped classroom (FC) is one such teaching method in which learners are provided learning materials before class with active discussion during teaching sessions. This promotes critical thinking, better retention, and future clinical applicability. This study aimed to compare FC and traditional teaching methods for first-phase medical learners for the anatomy curriculum. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of FC viz-a viz traditional lecture method for certain topics of clinical relevance from the anatomy curriculum and assess students' perception of the FC method.  Methodology The study was conducted on 96 phase-one medical learners after obtaining approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. After obtaining informed consent, a simple random sampling method was used to group the students into two groups. For the same topic, one group was taught with the FC method, while the other group was taught using the didactic lecture (DL) method. A crossover was done for another topic. Students were assessed by pre- and post-tests. Students' perceptions' were recorded by a pre-validated questionnaire quantified on a Likert scale. Results The difference in posttest scores for the topics taught between the two groups was found to be statistically significant. Perception regarding various aspects of the FC method was affirmative. Conclusions The results of this study indicated that FC is advantageous for students. It improves learner engagement and performance, and students' perception of the method was positive. Effective execution of this method requires detailed planning, constant motivation, and consistent efforts. Therefore, this method should be used more often for the benefit of students.