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Learning as a function of lecture length
1Naval Hospital, Jacksonville, Fla., USA.
Background:
The purpose of this study was to compare the learning of family practice residents after lectures of differing lengths (either 20 or 50 minutes' duration). Immediate and delayed recall were measured by written quizzes administered at the conclusion of each lecture and 2 weeks later.
Methods:
A total of 390 quizzes, 220 immediate and 170 delayed, were completed by residents from all three year groups attending didactic lectures as part of the regular training program curriculum at Naval Hospital Jacksonville. The completed quizzes were divided almost equally between 20- and 50-minute lectures.
Results:
No significant difference was found when the Student's t test was used to compare the quiz scores following the contrasting lecture lengths at either the immediate post-lecture period (P = .294) or 2 weeks later (P = .5443).
Conclusion:
This study shows that a 20-minute lecture was equal to the classic 50-minute lecture in terms of information retained by residents. If future studies confirm this study's findings, medical educators will need to reevaluate the length of lectures to improve efficiency of teaching.