%0 Journal Article
%T Interactive seminars or small group tutorials in preclinical medical education: results of a randomized controlled trial
%A Zuzana de Jong
%A Jessica AB van Nies
%A Sonja WM Peters
%A Sylvia Vink
%A Friedo W Dekker
%A Albert Scherpbier
%J BMC Medical Education
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6920-10-79
%X Students in year three of the Leiden undergraduate medical curriculum, who agreed to participate in a randomized controlled trial (RCT, n = 107), were randomly allocated to small group tutorials (n = 53) or interactive seminars (n = 54). Students who did not agree were free to choose either format (n = 105). Educational effectiveness was measured by comparing the participants' results on the end-of-block test. Data on students' reasons and satisfaction were collected by means of questionnaires. Data was analyzed using student unpaired t test or chi-square test where appropriate.There were no significant differences between the two educational formats in students' test grades. Retention of knowledge through active participation was the most frequently cited reason for preferring small group tutorials, while a dislike of compulsory course components was mentioned more frequently by students preferring interactive seminars. Small group tutorials led to greater satisfaction.We found that small group tutorials leads to greater satisfaction but not to better learning results. Interactive learning in large groups might be might be an effective alternative to small group tutorials in some cases and be offered as an option.In recent decades, renovations of medical curricula have often been accompanied by the introduction of small group learning. The effects of this educational format have been examined in many studies, mostly within contexts of problem-based learning [1]. A recent review of cognitive and motivational effects of small group tutorials [2] showed that small study groups foster interactive learning and positive cognitive effects, such as activation of prior knowledge, recall of information, individual and collaborative knowledge construction, and cognitive conflicts leading to conceptual change [3-6]. Small group learning was also reported to have a direct positive effect on students' motivation to learn [7,8] and motivation has been shown to play a central role
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/10/79