The Effect of Blended Learning on Teaching Applied Biostatistics for Postgraduate Medical Students

Introduction: Unlike the face-to-face courses offered on campus, online courses are predominantly asynchronous, where students basically decide when they can attend online courses. There is also an intermediate method referred to as blended learning (BL) that combines the merits of both methods. This study investigates the effect of blended learning on attitude and learning applied Biostatistics. Methods: The students' comprehension levels and attitudes were measured for both groups. The face-to-face group is so designed as to include 16 weeks of two-hour sessions, one session weekly, in one semester. The blended-learning group is designed to receive in one semester 16 weeks of two-hour sessions, one session weekly, such that initially, the group receives four sessions of electronic educational content and then eight sessions of blended learning. The scores attitudes of students from either group were obtained after the final exam and via the university's course evaluation system. The final exam score of both groups based on the results of the student's Bachelor's degree was compared using ANCOVA in terms of either teaching methods. Results: The numbers (proportions) of the participants attending Environmental Health, Waste Management, and Elderly Health courses were 14 (35%), 13 (32.5%), and 13 (32.5%), respectively. The mean (SD) of the scores for the blended-learning group with 18 participants was 16.69 (2.45), which was significantly higher than the score of 14.49 (2.67) for the face-to-face learning group with 22 participants (P = 0.013). Comparisons were made after adjusting the average on the bachelor's degree of both groups. Conclusion: In addition to the improved score for the BL group, the attitudes differed. Therefore, this method is recommended for teaching Applied Biostatistics.