Artificial Intelligence Versus Traditional Learning in a Medical School Setting

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Educational Technology
• Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

Background:

• Medical curricula are shifting from traditional lectures to interactive methods.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a novel approach to enhance medical education.
• This study compares AI-based learning with traditional flipped classroom methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if AI enhances learning compared to traditional flipped classroom styles.
• To assess the effectiveness of AI-powered learning materials versus lecture slides and voice-over videos.
• To determine the impact of different learning modalities on student performance in medical education.

Main Methods:

• First-year medical students were randomly assigned to three groups: PowerPoint (PPT) only, voice-over videos and PPT (VO+PPT), or AI and PPT (AI+PPT).
• Students reviewed pre-instructional materials.
• Performance was assessed using a 22-question formative quiz, focusing on overall scores and scores on the five most difficult questions.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in overall quiz scores was found between the three groups.
• The PPT-only group scored significantly lower on the five most difficult questions compared to both VO+PPT and AI+PPT groups.
• No significant difference in scores on difficult questions was observed between the VO+PPT and AI+PPT groups.

Conclusions:

• Both AI and voice-over video modalities are effective learning tools, outperforming traditional PowerPoint-only methods for difficult concepts.
• AI and voice-over learning methods demonstrated similar efficacy in improving student performance on challenging material.
• The choice between AI and voice-over methods can be based on instructor and student preferences and needs.