Frontalunterricht oder interaktive Gruppenarbeit? Ein Vergleich des Lernerfolgs und der studentischen Evaluation für das Fach Biochemie [Didactic lecture or interactive group discussion? A comparison of the learning success and the student evaluation in biochemistry]

[english] Aims: Interactive, student-centered teaching methods have replaced traditional teacher-centered didactic formats in many modern medical curricula in the past few years. However, in the natural sciences such as biochemistry, interactive teaching methods are not well proven. The present study was conducted to compare the effect of the teaching format on the performance of undergraduate students in biochemistry and their evaluation of the respective format. Methods: A total of 421 second-year students were randomized into two groups: The control group was taught in a traditional lecture-like format, whereas the study group dealt with the same topic in an interactive group discussion. At the end of each lesson, students performed a multiple-choice test and completed a questionnaire. The same MCQ test was repeated 4–6 weeks after the last lesson. Results: Students who were taught in a lecture-like format performed significantly better in the first MCQ test immediately after the lesson than students taught in the interactive format. However, in the second MCQ test, there was no difference between the two groups. In the questionnaire, students rated the lecture-based course significantly better than the interactive group discussion. Conclusion: One reason why students prefer a didactic lecture to an interactive group discussion might be due to the subject biochemistry, which is strongly knowledge-based. Students perceived that the transfer of knowledge by a professional lecturer was more effective than the knowledge obtained in a student-centered discussion group. Other reasons might be the method of assessment and the overall design of the curriculum. [german] Zielsetzung: Interaktive, Lerner-orientierte Unterrichtsmethoden werden vielfach mit moderner und guter Lehre in Verbindung gebracht und ersetzen zunehmend konventionellen, Lehrer-zentrierten Frontalunterricht. In naturwissenschaftlichen F chern, wie Biochemie, sind interaktive Unterrichtsformen bisher nur wenig erprobt. Die vorliegende Studie wurde mit dem Ziel durchgeführt, herauszufinden, welchen Einfluss die Unterrichtsform auf den Wissenszuwachs und die studentische Beurteilung des Biochemie-Unterrichts hat. Methodik: Studierende des 4. Fachsemesters (n=421) wurden für eine Seminarveranstaltung in zwei Gruppen randomisiert. Die Kontrollgruppe erhielt konventionellen Frontalunterricht, die Studiengruppe erarbeitete sich dieselben Lerninhalte anhand konkreter Fragestellungen in interaktiven Arbeitsgruppen. Als Messinstrument zur Beurteilung des kognitiven Erfolges diente ein Wissenstest unmi