Comparing attitudes of the sixth year medical students training in conventional and problem-based curricula in Chulalongkorn Medical School

Abstract

Investigates the attitude of the sixth year medical students in Chulalongkorn Medical School training in conventional and problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. The study was conducted in the academic year 1998 and 1999. 121 students included in the study for conventional batch and 125 for PBL batch. A 30-item questionnaire was developed for measuring the students' attitude. The validity of the scale was approved by five experts in the field of medical education. The raliability of the scale was evaluated using its internal consistency as an indicator. The Cronbach coefficient of this scale was 0.8913. The results of the study showed that students training in the conventional curriculum demonstrated more favorable attitude towards their curriculum than students in the PBL curriculum. Factor analysis demonstrated that PBL students had more positive attitudes in the area of relevancy of the content and emphasis more on the active learning. The study also investigates the effect of PBL implementation on the academic performance by comparing the scores obtained from the comprehensive examination between the two groups. No significant difference was demonstrated when the comprehensive examination scores were compared. Subgroup analysis based on level of knowledge measurement (recall, interpretation, and problem-solving levels) also demonstrated no significant difference. No definite correlation between the attitudes and academic performance was demonstrated. The study can be concluded that the first cohort of PBL students in Chulalongkorn Medical School had less favorable attitudes towards their curriculum compared with the last cohort of conventional curriculum. Improvement in curriculum design is needed to change this undesirable attitudes.