Epidemiology for medical students: A controlled trial of three teaching methods

Abstract

Gehlbach S H (Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Welsh National School of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff CF4 4XN, UK), Farrow S C, Fowkes F G R, West R R and Roberts C J. Epidemiology for medical students: a controlled trial of three teaching methods. International Journal of Epidemiology 1985, 14: 178–181. Medical students taking a course in epidemiology for clinical practice were taught by either lectures, small group seminars or self-learning packages. Examination performances were no different for the three groups, but self-perceived mastery of learning objectives, and satisfaction with the course were higher for students who received self-learning packages. Sixty per cent of self instruction students found the teaching method was successful compared with 37% of the seminar students and only 19% who received lectures. A combination of self-instructional package and seminar would seem to hold most promise for a workable and effective course. © 1985 International Epidemiological Association.