PERSPECTIVES OF MEDICAL STUDENTS & TEACHERS REGARDING THE USE OF DIFFERENT LECTURE METHODS

Didactic lecture for a large group is one of the oldest teaching-learning method. Lectures are an efficient means of transferring knowledge and concepts to large groups. They can be used to stimulate interest, explain concepts, provide core knowledge, and direct student learning. A lot of changes have occurred in this teaching-learning method during the past 15 – 20 years. From chalk and talk to more advanced powepoint methods, teachers are using different methods for delivering lectures. Every teaching method has its merits and demerits[1], hence it is difficult to decide which method is superior than the other one.


INTRODUCTION
Didactic lecture for a large group is one of the oldest teaching-learning method. Lectures are an efficient means of transferring knowledge and concepts to large groups. They can be used to stimulate interest, explain concepts, provide core knowledge, and direct student learning. A lot of changes have occurred in this teaching-learning method during the past 15 -20 years. From chalk and talk to more advanced powepoint methods, teachers are using different methods for delivering lectures. Every teaching method has its merits and demerits [1], hence it is difficult to decide which method is superior than the other one.  [2,3]. While some other studies suggest that use of PPT is preferred by the students because of certain advantages [4,5]. But, even though there is preference given to one method either by the teachers or students, it is found that combination of more than one method is always better for understanding, as suggested by some studies [6,7].
Most of the teaching methods used for lectures are teacher-centered and not learner-centered [8]. The method used for lectures is mainly determined by the teacher as per his/her convenience. Though the effectiveness depends on the teacher on how appropriately the aid is being used [9,10]. The students are never asked about the lecture method which helps them in better learning. This can lead to poor understanding by students which in turn may hamper the learning process.
Hence, an attempt is made to find out the gap in perspectives of medical students & teachers regarding the ABSTRACT Background: Teaching methods used for lectures are mostly teacher-centered a nd not learner-centered. The method used for lectures is mainly determined by the teacher as per his/her convenience. The students are never asked about the lecture method which helps them in better learning. This can lead to poor understanding by students which in turn may hamper the learning process.  use of lecture method for classroom teaching.

Study participants: Students & teachers of Medical
College.

Study tool: Questionnaire
Study Procedure: A separate questionnaire was prepared for students and teachers consisting of questions to find out their perspectives regarding the use of teaching methods in the classroom. This questionnaire was administered to all MBBS students and faculty members of the institution and responses were collected from those who were willing. Also, they were asked not to reveal their identity while filling the questionnaire to get the authentic responses. There was not much of a difference between chalk and talk and PPT presentation when it comes to memorizing the topic (p>0.05). Majority of the students (55.1%) will prefer using traditional chalk and talk method if they become teacher (p<0.05).
Students feel that traditional method is more interactive but it is time consuming, slow method and also there is visibility problem. OHP is also having visibility and handwriting issues and its boring. PPT presentations are too fast but they are good for showing pictures, diagrams, animations, videos, etc.  Out of 47 teachers, 37 (78.7%) teachers prefer PP for classroom teaching; while 7 (14.9%) teachers prefer traditional method and only 3 (6.4%) teachers prefer OHP.
Most common reasons for using the preferred method by teachers being they feel that student understanding is better and they are comfortable with the use of that particular method. 36 (76.6%) teachers agreed that they will change to other method of classroom teaching if required. 43 (91.5%) teachers take the review of their lecture 38 (80.5%) teachers like to have their performance being monitored for self-evaluation & self-improvement.
Overhead projector is neither preferred by students nor teacher as a teaching tool.

DISCUSSION
Being a large group teaching method, a didactic lecture is bound to have its own advantages and disadvantages. There are different audio-visual aids available to facilitate the teaching-learning process by this method. Traditional chalk and talk method is preferred by many students. This method helps them in better understanding of the topic (54.9%), in more concentration and less distraction (61.5%) and making classmates more attentive and less disturbing to them (56.1%). These findings were consistent with one previous study10. This fact is also proved when comparative studies are undertaken and ability to answer questions among students is tested2,3. But at the same time students who participated in our study also feel that for certain advantages PPT presentation should also be used during lecture method, like PPT presentation helps them in taking down notes easily (58.0%) and also feels that teacher is more comfortable while using PPT presentation. Similar kind of findings were observed in a study, where students prefer chalk and talk method but PPT is useful in taking down notes [11]. Though there are studies which clearly states the preference of PPT presentation during lectures [4,5].
As students have mentioned about the advantages of both the methods; findings were supported by few studies where combination of multiple methods is found useful [6,7].
We also asked teachers about their perspectives about the use of different aids during lectures. Most of the teachers nowadays prefer using PPT presentation (78.7%), mostly because they are comfortable with that method and they also feel that the students' understanding is better with this method. A previous study showed that teachers prefer to use chalk and talk and PPT presentations during the lecture [8]. Most of the teachers take review of the lecture. Almost 76.6% teachers agreed that they will change to other method of classroom teaching if required while 80.5% of teachers would like to have their performance being monitored for self-evaluation & self-improvement.

CONCLUSION
Results suggested that the traditional method is the one which is favoured by many medical students along while the power point presentations are more useful for noting down the important points; while many teachers prefer using power point presentations for classroom teaching. Further, sensitization of the teachers regarding the optimum use of power point presentations and giving more emphasis on use of traditional methods can be done, and outcomes based on the improvement in the performance of the students will be assessed later.