Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health (Feb 2022)
Perceptions of medical students regarding online learning versus traditional learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in Maharashtra, India
Abstract
Introduction The current COVID-19 pandemic has forced medical colleges to withhold traditional teaching and resort to online learning as an alternative method. Blending online and traditional learning in medical education has a vast scope considering that technology will advance further in future. This study was conducted to assess students’ perceptions regarding online learning versus traditional learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods and Materials A cross-sectional study was carried out among undergraduate medical students of a private medical college in Maharashtra, India. All students from the 3rd year MBBS cohort (n=100) were invited to participate. Data were collected through email using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire that surveyed students’ perceptions about teaching and learning methods. The collected data was analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS version 16.0. Results Out of the 100 eligible students, 96 enrolled in the study. We observed mixed perceptions of the different teaching and learning methods in relation to various parameters, related to traditional and online learning, during the students’ first, and short, experience of the Zoom platform. Of the 96 students, 47% liked the transition against 53% who did not, but this split was not statistically significant (p=0.38). There was no significant association between gender and like or dislike of the transition. Conclusion This study found mixed perceptions of participants regarding teaching and learning methods: 30% preferred traditional classrooms, 19% preferred online and 51% considered online methods to be equally good. Traditional teaching was strongly preferred with regard to the flow of lectures and the learning-teaching environment. Thus, in future a blend of both methods can be utilized to improve learning experience in medical education.
