Students’ perception and effectiveness of learning human structure and functions II (AHS 1023) through problem-based learning (PBL): a preliminary study

• Main Authors: Mohd Amin, Nor Munirah, Yusof, Nurul Asyiqin, Zamli, Zaitunnatakhin
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ( UKM ) 2019
• Subjects: L Education (General); R Medicine (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/77756/1/MAAC%202019%20-%20Abstract.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/77756/; http://maac2019.maa.net.my/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Introduction: Anatomy is a prerequisite course for other courses in the health based programmes. Realizing that basic understanding of anatomy is vital to understand clinical subjects in the later semesters, problem-based learning (PBL) is implemented to supplement the lecture sessions. However, previous studies have showed inconsistent findings on the effectiveness of PBL in teaching and learning anatomy. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate students’ perception and effectiveness of learning the Human Structure and Functions II (AHS 1023) through the PBL. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 participants were divided into PBL and the non-PBL groups, by using a stratified systematic sampling. All participants were involved in answering the questionnaire, the pre- and post-test following the lecture and practical on the Endocrine System. However, only the PBL group attended the PBL sessions after the pre-test session. Results and Discussion: The results showed that most of the participants were having a positive perception towards the implementation of PBL in AHS 1023. For the PBL-group, their performance was slightly increased (p = 0.068) and significantly higher (p = 0.002) than the non-PBL participants, in the post-test. The higher performance in the PBL than non-PBL group was attributed to their ability to answer the medium (p = 0.002) and hard (p = 0.011) types of questions, suggesting that the PBL may increase the effectiveness of deep learning and thinking process. However, there was no correlation between the positive perception and the performance of participants in the PBL session, the pre- (r = 0.147, p = 0.351) and post-test (r = 0.008, p = 0.973). Conclusion: This implies student’s performance is independent of their initial perception towards the course.