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. 2017 Sep 18;17(1):167.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-017-1001-5.

Short-duration podcasts as a supplementary learning tool: perceptions of medical students and impact on assessment performance

S S Prakash  1 , N Muthuraman  1 , R Anand  2
Affiliations

Short-duration podcasts as a supplementary learning tool: perceptions of medical students and impact on assessment performance

S S Prakash et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Use of podcasts has several advantages in medical education. Podcasts can be of different types based on their length: short (1-5 min), moderate (6-15 min) and long (>15 min) duration. Short-duration podcasts are unique since they can deliver high-yield information in a short time. The perceptions of medical students towards short-duration podcasts are not well understood and this study aimed to analyze the same. An exploratory analysis of students' podcast usage and performance in summative assessments was also undertaken.

Methods: First-year medical students (N = 94) participated in the study. Eight audiovisual podcasts, each ≤3 min duration (3-MinuTe Lessons; 3MTLs) were developed for two topics in biochemistry. The podcasts were made available for students after didactic lectures on the topics. Feedback was collected from students about their perceptions to 3MTLs using a self-reported questionnaire. The scores of students in summative assessments were compared based on their usage of 3MTLs.

Results: Feedback revealed that 3MTLs were well received by students as a useful and convenient supplementary tool. Students used 3MTLs for topic review, to get an overview, as well as for quick revision and felt that 3MTLs were helpful in improving their understanding of the topic, clarify concepts and focus on important points and in turn, in preparation for assessments. A significant proportion (49%) felt that 3-min duration was optimal while, an equal proportion suggested an increase in the duration to 5 min with more information. The overall mean scores in assessments were not different between students based on 3MTLs usage. The pairwise comparisons revealed better scores amongst students who used 3MTLs for both topics.

Conclusion: Overall, short-duration podcasts were perceived by students as useful supplementary learning tools that aided them for revision and in preparation for assessments.

Keywords: Biochemistry; Medical students; Podcasts; Undergraduate Medical Education; Webcasts.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Institutional Review Board, Christian Medical College, Vellore approved the study protocol (IRB Min. No. 10131 [OBSERVE] dated 22nd June 2016). All study participants provided written informed consent.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Students’ perception and mode of access to 3MTLs. i) Students’ perceptions on the purpose of 3MTLs. ii) Gadgets used by students to access 3MTLs. iii) Students’ perceptions on duration of 3MTLs
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Quality and usefulness rating of 3MTLs. i) Student ratings on quality of 3MTLs on a 5-point Likert scale. ii) Student ratings on usefulness of 3MTLs on a 5-point Likert scale
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Comparison of scores of students in written assessments. i) Scores in the test (Test3MTL) which had implemented 3MTLs were compared with assessments that immediately preceded (TestP) and succeeded (TestS). Tests were scored out of a maximum of 30. Data is represented as mean ± SD in all groups (N = 92). **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001. ii) Based on self-reported 3MTL usage, students were divided into 3 groups for comparison [3MTL: Heavy-users (used 3MTLs for two topics; N = 41); 3MTL: Intermediate-users (used 3MTLs for some of the topics; N = 32); 3MTL: Non-users (did not use 3MTLs; N = 19)]. Tests were scored out of a maximum of 30. Data is represented as mean ± SD in all groups. NS- Not significant
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