Medical Education and Curriculum Development & Research Unit, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 2925, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Med Educ. 2013 May 24;13:71. doi: 10.1186/1472-6920-13-71.
With the introduction of integrated problem-based learning (PBL) program in the medical curriculum, there is a need to create laboratory classes that suit students' learning needs and the changes introduced to the curriculum. This paper outlines the development and implementation of four integrated laboratory classes (ILCs) at King Saud University College of Medicine. It also examines whether core concepts addressed in these classes were learned and retained and how the students perceived the ILCs.
ILCs are based on enhancing enquiry-based learning, and encouraging students to work on tasks in small groups (apply and integrate knowledge from biochemistry, pathology and microbiology) and conduct a laboratory procedure (practical part). In two of these ILCs, a pretest comprising 15 multiple-choice questions were administrated at the start of the class and an identical posttest was administrated at the end of these classes. Performance of the students in the Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) at the end of the blocks was also evaluated. Students' perceptions were evaluated using a questionnaire completed at the end of each class.
A total of 247, 252, 238, and 244 students participated in practical classes covering cerebrospinal fluid infection, small intestine, liver function tests and adrenal gland function, respectively. Students got higher scores in posttests compared to pre-test scores in two classes (12.68 ± 2.03 vs 6.58 ± 3.39 and 13.02 ± 2.03 vs 7.43 ± 2.68, respectively). Paired t-test showed that the difference was significant (P < 0.001) in both tests. The mean scores of students in stations dealing with ILCs at the end of the block examinations were not significantly different from the mean scores for other stations not related to ILCs. The questionnaire indicated that most students expressed positive attitude towards working on tasks and applying knowledge learnt. Students also felt that conducting laboratory procedures and interpreting laboratory findings were valuable to their learning.
Given the increase in the posttest scores (short-term retention) and the satisfactory performance of students at the end of block examinations (long-term retention) together with the students' satisfaction, the study suggests that the core concepts addressed in these classes were learned and retained.
随着综合以问题为基础的学习（PBL）课程在医学课程中的引入，需要创建适合学生学习需求和课程改革的实验室课程。本文概述了沙特国王大学医学院四门综合实验室课程（ILC）的开发和实施情况。本文还考察了这些课程中是否涉及并掌握了核心概念，以及学生对 ILC 的看法。
ILC 基于增强以探究为基础的学习，并鼓励学生以小组形式完成任务（应用和整合生物化学、病理学和微生物学的知识）和进行实验室程序（实践部分）。在这四个 ILC 中的两个中，在课程开始时进行了包含 15 个多项选择题的前测，在课程结束时进行了相同的后测。还评估了学生在块末客观结构化实践考试（OSPE）中的表现。学生的看法通过在每节课结束时完成的问卷进行评估。
共有 247、252、238 和 244 名学生分别参加了涵盖脑脊髓液感染、小肠、肝功能检查和肾上腺功能的实践课程。与前测相比，在后测中，两个班级的学生得分更高（12.68±2.03 对 6.58±3.39 和 13.02±2.03 对 7.43±2.68，分别）。配对 t 检验表明这两个测试的差异均具有统计学意义（P<0.001）。在块末考试中，与不涉及 ILC 的其他站相比，处理 ILC 的站的学生的平均分没有显著差异。问卷表明，大多数学生对完成任务和应用所学知识持积极态度。学生还认为进行实验室程序和解释实验室结果对他们的学习有价值。
考虑到后测成绩的提高（短期保留）和学生在块末考试中的令人满意的表现（长期保留）以及学生的满意度，研究表明，这些课程中涉及的核心概念已被学习和掌握。
