Case Report - Current Pediatric Research (2024) Volume 28, Issue 10

Implementation of Case Based Learning (CBL) approach in paediatrics, a prospective observational study

Aims and objectives: 1) To assess and compare the performance of students before and after didactic lecture and case based learning. 2) To assess the perception of students and teachers about CBL by pre-validated questionnaire using a five-point scale.

Materials and methods: The study conducted in the department of paediatrics, Terna medical college, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, III year MBBS students of our college participated in the study. They were divided into two batches (A and B) by simple random sampling. These two batches were exposed to didactic lecture and CBL respectively in topic 1 and then crossover was done in second week for the topic 2. Topic 1 was nephrotic syndrome and topic 2 was thalassemia. The student’s knowledge before and after both the sessions was assessed by pre and post-test questionnaire. Perception of students and teachers about CBL was assessed by pre-validated questionnaire using a five-point scale.

Evaluation plans: Outcome was measured by comparison of pre-test and post-test scores using “Paired t tests” in both groups in each session separately for topic 1 and 2. Post test scores in CBL group and didactic lecture group was compared by “Unpaired t test”. Students and faculty responses on perception about CBL on 5-point Likert scales were analyzed using percentages.

Results: We compared between differences of pre-test and post-test in Case Base Learning (CBL) method vs. theory teaching. The mean difference for two methods for both topics were statistically significant with p value of <0.001. More than 90% of students perceived CBL sessions more interesting, helpful in improving critical thinking ability, problem solving abilities and communication skills whereas 100% teachers perceived CBL sessions helpful in making subject interesting, improving learning abilities, student-teacher interaction and better understanding.

Conclusion: Considering the positive perception of the students and the faculty, in resource-intensive settings CBL can be used in combination with traditional didactic lecture method for promoting critical thinking and problem-solving abilities of the students. CBL is an effective tool for imbibing clinical skills during paediatrics learning.

Author(s):

Minakshi Bhat, Varsha Mane* , Karuna, Shlani S, Sheetal B, Chandrashekhar Koli

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