Facilitatory Effect of Extending the Course Duration on Dissemination of Educational Content

Abstract

The physiological practice course at Saitama Medical University provides students with the opportunity to learn physiological principles through wet labs and discussions. To develop a more effective method for maximizing learning outcomes, we extended the course's schedule from one day (1d) to two days (2d) per theme, evaluated self-administered questionnaires between two different years (pre and post-change), and examined whether the increased course length affected learning outcomes. Within the 2018 curriculum year, every theme of the course was completed in a day, including experiments in the wet lab and discussions. In 2019, each theme was assessed for two days. The second-year undergraduate medical students anonymously submitted the self-assessment questionnaire that addressed several aspects, such as understanding of the theme, through a 5-point Likert scale. The average Likert scores varied from 4 to 4.5 point for all questions, and significant differences were not found between the 1d and 2d courses. However, the ratio of students with the highest points increased for one question of the 2d course: 43.6% (1d) to 53.4% (2d) for understanding. Further, the standard deviation (SD) values decreased in the 2d course for every question: 0.29 (1d) to 0.15 (2d) for interest, 0.33 (1d) to 0.19 (2d) for understanding, 0.30 (d) to 0.17 (d) for communication, 0.34 (1d) to 0.19 (2d) for general evaluation. This reduction in the SD values indicated that the educational content was imparted more efficiently to students in the 2d course. Thus, we concluded that extending the course time facilitated dissemination of educational content for every theme.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-022-01563-4.

Keywords: Course duration; Likert score; Physiological practice course; Self-assessment questionnaire.

Fig. 1

Self-administered questionnaire. The second-year undergraduate medical students voluntarily and anonymously submitted the self-administered questionnaire after completing all the tasks in each theme. Our questionnaire contains questions regarding several issues, including interest in the theme, understanding of the theme, communication with instructors, and general evaluations of the theme

Fig. 2

Evaluation of the self-administered questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale. Students assessed the physiological practice course in terms of interest, understanding, communication, and general evaluation, using a 5-point graded Likert scale after completing each theme: nerve (N), muscle (M), ECG (E), and reproduction (R). The scores for the two years (1d and 2d courses in 2018 and 2019, respectively) were averaged among the identical themes and year

Fig. 3

Average Likert score comparisons between 1 and 2d. A The standard deviation values (i.e., as pure numbers) of each theme’s Likert scores were averaged among the corresponding year, and analyzed between the 1d and 2d courses (i.e., 1d for 2018 and 2d for 2019) (mean ± SD, n = 4; *: p = 0.026, Student’s t-test, n = 4). The average scores of the values are highlighted in the bar of each graph. B The four themes’ Likert scores were averaged among the corresponding year, and analyzed between the 1d and 2d courses. The average scores are highlighted in the bar of each graph

Fig. 4

Distribution pattern comparisons of each Likert score between 1 and 2d. (Upper) The ratios of every Likert scores for two questions (understanding and communication) were compared between the 1d and 2d courses. The ratios are highlighted in the bar of each graph. (Lower) The highest points of each question increased in 2d: 43.6% for 1d and 53.4% for 2d in the understanding question (mean ± SD, p = 0.32. Student’s t-test, n = 4)

Fig. 5

Study summary. In this study, we extended the course duration from one to two days. In the 2d course, students were present in class for a longer time (attended time was increased). Our analyses indicated a profound decrease in the SD values for every question in the self-administered questionnaire and the average score for understanding slightly increased. However, the average scores for interest and communication were similar in both course periods. These results implied that extending the course duration helps to convey educational contents more efficiently to every student; however, this extension did not, at least with the present resources, affect the learning outcomes. We considered that instead of extending the course length, we may need to develop more attractive educational materials, more experimental instruments, and/or better instructor skills to evoke more positive outcomes for the students