Introduction of ‘Buzz session into didactic lectures followed by a comparison of it with didactic lectures alone in biochemistry for first year mbbs students

Introduction: The purpose of any “teaching--learning” process is to facilitate the learning process and to develop proper lifelong learning habits and attitudes. Though “lecture” had been a very good tool in the teaching- learning process due to the many advantages like feasibility, large group of learners could be covered and an efficient use of time and resource. But during lecture, the Learner is passive” which actually does not help if we need to incorporate the attitude of “self-motivated learning”. This study was carried out to introduce active learning among the students by using one of the interactive teaching method “Buzz session” in large group teaching. The study evaluated the perception of the students and faculties on “Buzz session” and evaluated how introduction of “Buzz Session” into didactic lecture help in the process of learning. Method: The study was conducted by the Biochemistry department in Dr. M.K. Shah Medical College and Hospital, Ahmedabad, India. The participants (n = 150) were first year MBBS students, during the academic year from 2017–18. The innovative teaching was introduced by using “Buzz session” into the traditional didactic lecture. Five lectures were taken by introducing such innovative teaching method which was compared with five traditional didactic lectures. The educational outcomes which were assessed on the basis of the marks in MCQ exam (i.e. based on the student's performance) which was taken after both the traditional didactic lectures and innovative lectures with “Buzz session”. The students were asked to evaluate the relevance for the learning process during the “Buzz sessions” with the help of the questioner prepared on a 4-point Likert scale. The feedback of the faculties was also evaluated using the Likert scale. Results: A very significant p<0.001 improvement was observed in terms of academic performance among the students. The score was 3.41±0.99 in Buzz session while in traditional session it was 3.31±0.98. A 4-point Likert scale questionnaire which contained seven questions was administered to the students, to know their perception on the usefulness of the Buzz session. 72% of the students reported that they found the Buzz sessions to be an interesting method of gaining knowledge. 85% of them felt that they exposed them to an experience of logical application of the knowledge which was gained during the teamwork of buzz sessions, which would be of great help in the future also. Conclusion: The introduction of the “Buzz sessions” and structuring the traditional didactic lecture showed improved academic performance. The students perceived “Buzz” method to be a valuable learning tool in biochemistry which improved their reasoning skills and motivated them to learn. The faculties also felt that it lead to active learning among the participants and also helped the students to develop skills.