Impact of Teaching Methods on Clinical Reasoning in Forensic Medicine: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of flipped classroom and video-assisted learning techniques with didactic lectures in promoting clinical reasoning skills in Forensic Medicine.

Study design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Forensic Medicine, Dow International Medical College and Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan, from May to October 2023.

Methodology: The study included 114 third-year medical students divided into three predefined tutorial groups. Over four weeks, within the Forensic Medicine respiratory module, each group was taught one topic per week using a distinct teaching strategy: Traditional lectures (TL) for the first group, flipped classroom (FC) method for the second group, and video-assisted teaching (VAT) for the third group. Students' learning achievements and clinical reasoning skills were assessed through a pre-test, post-test, and revision post-test.

Results: Pre-test scores showed no significant differences among the groups (p = 0.655). However, post-test scores differed significantly (F2:111 = 11.93, p <0.001). Tukiye's test indicated that the mean score for the FC group was significantly different from the TL group (p = 0.003) and the VAT group (p <0.001), but there was no significant difference between the TL and VAT groups (p = 0.422). The revision post-test indicated a significant decrease in mean scores across all groups, regardless of the instructional approach (p <0.001).

Conclusion: The FC approach for teaching clinical reasoning in Forensic Medicine shows promising results, effectively improving student performance and learning experience.

Key words: Flipped classroom, Video-assisted teaching, Clinical reasoning, Forensic Medicine teaching.