Evaluating Student Engagement and Effectiveness of the Scenario-Case Discussion Learning Model in Medical...

Case-based learning (CBL) in medical microbiology teaching serves as a crucial pedagogical link that bridges foundational knowledge and clinical thinking, but student participation, enthusiasm, and initiative are often lacking during the foundational learning stage. We designed a scenario-case discussion (SCD) model and evaluated its effectiveness in ensuring that under the student-centered principle, each student is motivated to actively participate and engages in self-directed learning and knowledge reconstruction.

SCD activity was conducted over three academic years involving 240 second-year undergraduate medical students majoring in clinical medicine for a prospective quasi-experiment. Participants were divided into two classes: one receiving conventional CBL (120 students) and the other receiving SCD model (120 students). Knowledge comprehension and retention were assessed through content-based tests, while student engagement was evaluated based on classroom interactions and post-class feedback. Participant perceptions of the SCD were evaluated via questionnaires.

Despite slight variability in participants' age and gender, both the SCD and control classes showed significant improvement in pre- and post-test scores. Particularly noteworthy is the greater gain observed in the SCD group compared to the control class (mean increase: 1.99 vs. 1.03 points; P < 0.05). Analysis of final examination revealed that scores in the SCD class were significantly higher than those in the control class across all academic years (P < 0.05 for all). Post-class questionnaires showed that over 74% of students gained a positive learning experience, such as stimulated interests, enhanced initiative, proactivity, a first-hand understanding of the doctor-patient relationship, and a better comprehension of the course content. Most notably, as many as 96.67% of the students agreed that the SCD approach ensured the participation of every student. Encouragingly, the SCD class demonstrated a significantly higher frequency of questions raised both in and after class.

The SCD teaching model significantly improved the educational outcomes of CBL sessions in medical microbiology. Given the current educational goal of fostering students as constructors and creators of knowledge, the SCD teaching practice may serve as a positive driver.