Abstract :
Background: Teaching in India is still controlled by teacher centered
classrooms. Absence of active involvement of students in traditional
teacher-centered classes leads to boredom and inability to concentrate in
lectures. Recently, many active learning methods have been piloted and
tested with the intention to engage students in classrooms. One such
method is seminar, which is an interactive method of group teaching. The
current study was undertaken to document the effect of seminar on
undergraduate learning.
Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted by the Department of
Community Medicine, VMMC on undergraduate students. The Department
organized a seminar on “Radiation and Cancer- Public health concerns”
which brought together experienced speakers to deliver a talk on the
importance of radiation. The effect of seminar was assessed with the help
of predesigned questionnaire which was developed based on the topics
presented at the seminar. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS v. 17.
Results and Discussion: A total of 112 undergraduate students completed
the questionnaire, both pre- and post. The mean score before exposure to
the seminar was 7.93± 2.05 whereas post seminar the score was 9.91±1.80
(p=0.001). 84% students observed an increment in their scores post the
seminar. Findings provide a scientific support to introduce alternative
methods of teaching besides the routine chalk and talk method. Introducing
the concept of seminars wherein experts from various medical related
backgrounds come at one platform and deliver updated medical knowledge
to students would be beneficial.
Keyword :
Undergraduate, Education, Seminar, alternative teaching techniques.