Physiology, Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Biochemistry, Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Med Educ Online. 2023 Dec;28(1):2204547. doi: 10.1080/10872981.2023.2204547.
Directed self-learning (DSL) is an active learning approach where the learners are provided with predefined learning objectives and some facilitation through the learning process in the form of guidance and supervision. It can help establish a strong foundation for autonomous and deep learning.
The aim of this study was to introduce a modified form of DSL to second-year undergraduate medical students using pre-small group discussion (pre-SGD) worksheets. The authors intended to evaluate its effectiveness through theme assessment and investigate students' perceptions using a feedback questionnaire.
This was an analytical cross-sectional study. Modified DSL (MDSL) was introduced to 96 second-year undergraduate medical students in two themes. Students were divided randomly into two groups. One group was exposed to traditional DSL (TDSL), and the other was introduced to MDSL using pre-SGD worksheets for the first theme. Groups were reversed for the second theme. The activity was followed by a theme assessment, which was scored for research purpose only. The scores of this assessment were compared, and perceptions of the students were gathered using a validated questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM's statistical package of social sciences (SPSS) version 22.
The comparison of theme assessment scores revealed statistically significant difference (P = 0.002) in median scores between control TDSL and experimental MDSL groups. The percentage of students scoring ≥80% in theme assessment was significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group (P = 0.029). This strategy was well perceived by the students in terms of acceptability and effectiveness as depicted by a high degree of agreement on the Likert-scale.
Modified DSL resulted in significant improvement in academic performance of undergraduate medical students. MDSL was also well perceived as an active learning strategy in terms of acceptability, effectiveness, and comparison with TDSL. [Figure: see text].
定向自学（DSL）是一种主动学习方法，学习者在学习过程中被提供预定义的学习目标，并通过指导和监督等形式的促进。它可以帮助建立自主和深度学习的坚实基础。
本研究旨在通过预小组讨论（pre-SGD）工作表向二年级医学生介绍一种改良形式的 DSL。作者打算通过主题评估来评估其效果，并通过反馈问卷调查学生的看法。
这是一项分析性的横断面研究。将改良 DSL（MDSL）介绍给两个主题的 96 名二年级医学生。学生被随机分为两组。一组接受传统 DSL（TDSL），另一组通过 pre-SGD 工作表接受 MDSL。主题进行了主题评估，仅用于研究目的进行评分。对该评估的分数进行了比较，并使用经过验证的问卷收集了学生的看法。数据使用 IBM 的社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）版本 22 进行分析。
主题评估分数的比较显示，对照组 TDSL 和实验组 MDSL 之间的中位数分数存在统计学显著差异（P=0.002）。实验组在主题评估中得分≥80%的学生比例明显高于对照组（P=0.029）。这种策略在接受性和有效性方面都得到了学生的高度评价，在李克特量表上的高度一致。
改良的 DSL 显著提高了医学生的学业成绩。MDSL 作为一种主动学习策略，在可接受性、有效性和与 TDSL 的比较方面也得到了很好的评价。[图：见正文]。
