Usefulness of a Self-learning CD-ROM Module for Teaching Biostatistics in the Community Medicine Curriculum
Abstract
Teaching of biostatistics in the community medicine curriculum is facing some issues such as shortage of trained faculty and inadequate teaching time. Various methods utilizing modern information technology have been studied to overcome these problems. We attempted to study the use of self-learning CD-ROM module for teaching biostatistics in the community medicine curriculum and evaluate the effectiveness in a group of third-semester medical students. The self-learning CD-ROM on biostatistics developed by the World Health Organization has been designed in such a way that trainees can work independently using only the CD-ROM when no book or tutor is available. The module was pilot tested on 30 fifth-semester students in two batches, each posted for 2 weeks in community medicine. The first batch was the control and the topics taught them only in the conventional method while for the second batch, the test group given with digital module. Acceptance of this module was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire for the students. Actual knowledge acquisition was evaluated using a post-test for the two groups. The analysis revealed that majority of the students in the test group were comfortable using the module and felt that it encouraged them toward further in-depth self-learning on the concerned topics. The results from the post-test were compared between the test and control groups using the Student’s t-test, which gave a P value of 0.091 (5% significance level)suggesting that the difference was not significant and had comparable effectiveness. To conclude, we would like to suggest that the use the concept like computer skill labs coupled with an interactive information technology based self-learning module might be helpful in the teaching of biostatistics in the community medicine curriculum.
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