The flipped classroom for medical students

Abstract

Background: The objectives of this curricular innovation project were to implement a flipped classroom curriculum for the gynaecologic oncology topics of the obstetrics and gynaecology medical student clerkship, and to evaluate student satisfaction with the change.

Methods: Four short online videos on the topics of endometrial hyperplasia, cervical dysplasia, evaluation of an adnexal mass, and ovarian cancer were created, and students were instructed to view them prior to a class-time active learning session. The Learning Activity Management System (lams) open-source online platform was used to create an active learning class-time activity that consisted of a coached discussion of cases. Student satisfaction with the two aspects of the flipped curriculum was obtained. In addition, lecture assessment for the gynaecologic oncology topics and aggregate student performance on the gynaecological oncology questions of the US National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Subject Examination were compared before and after implementation of the curriculum.

Results: Eighty-nine students rotated on the clerkship during the pilot period of analysis. Seventy-one students (80%) viewed the videos prior to the class session, and 84 (94%) attended the session. Student satisfaction was very high for both parts of the curriculum. There was no significant difference in aggregate student performance on the gynaecological oncology questions of the NBME Subject Examination. The flipped classroom curriculum demonstrates a promising platform for using technology to make better use of students' time

Discussion: Our implementation of the flipped classroom curriculum for the gynaecologic oncology topics successfully demonstrates a promising platform for using technology to make better use of our students' time, and for increasing their satisfaction with the necessary didactic learning of the clerkship.