Publication:

Students’ attitude toward didactic lecture versus problem-based learning in pharmacology: a questionnaire based study

Background The study was conducted to assess student attitude toward learning by didactic lectures versus problem-based learning (PBL).

Methods A questionnaire containing 11 statements was distributed to the students. Statements ranged from general information on lectures and PBL to benefits of lecture-based learning (LBL) over PBL and vice versa. The students were asked to score each individual statement. The median total scores and median with inter-quartile range of individual statements was calculated. A comparison between questions that support LBL or PBL was performed. Student t-test was employed to compare the mean scores of different groups.

Results Two hundred and seven students participated in this questionnaire study. The individual median total score was 42 when compared with possible total score of 55. There was a statistically significant (p<0.05) difference between the total score (mean±standard deviation) for the questions related to LBL (3.2391±0.05120) and those related to PBL (4.0640±0.05688).

Conclusion The score for PBL was significantly higher than LBL showing that students liked PBL more than LBL.