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Improved student learning of infant growth and development
Insights
Medical students gained better understanding of child development through a new course. Observing infant growth longitudinally improved their knowledge of normal development compared to traditional methods.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Biology
- Medical Education
Background:
- Physicians need knowledge of normal child growth and development to identify abnormalities.
- Traditional medical education often focuses on ill children, limiting exposure to healthy development.
- Longitudinal follow-up of healthy children is crucial but often lacking in curricula.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of a novel educational course focused on observing longitudinal infant development.
- To evaluate medical students' comprehension of normal child development after participating in the new course.
Main Methods:
- A new course was implemented for medical students to observe a normal infant's development from birth to 16 months.
- An experimental group (course participants) and two comparison groups were given a multiple-choice test on developmental concepts (birth to 6 years).
Main Results:
- The experimental group significantly outperformed comparison groups on test items related to development from birth to 18 months.
- The course provided valuable longitudinal observational experience of infant development.
Conclusions:
- The developed course effectively enhances medical students' understanding of early childhood development.
- This longitudinal observational approach complements existing medical training methods for pediatric development.
Abstract:
All physicians who care for children require a knowledge of normal growth and development in order to detect and interpret abnormalities. Yet traditional instruction tends to focus on the ill child and rarely provides students the opportunity to follow up the cases of healthy children over a prolonged period of time. A new course was developed that enabled students to observe the longitudinal developmemt of a normal infant from birth to age 16 months. At the completion of the course, a multiple-choice examination covering developmental concepts from birth to age 6 years was administered to the students who participated in this course (experimental group) and to two comparison groups. The experimental group scored substantially higher than both comparison groups on items covering birth to age 18 months. The program offers an opportunity for medical students to observe the longitudinal development of a normal infant and appears complementary to other instructional methods.