The Targeted Implementation of Teaching in Small Group Discussion for Second- Year Students In Physiotherapy:A Comparative Assessment of Teaching Effect on Satisfaction and Learning Level

Background and aim: One of the main problems in learning is ignoring the teaching in small group discussion.So, today, teaching in student-based methods such as work in small group is emphasized. Nevertheless, this method is not used for teaching physiotherapy students. This study was performed to determine the effect of teaching in small group on satisfaction and learning level of second- year students in physiotherapy in comparison with lecture teaching.Materials and methods: An experimental study was performed on 29 physiotherapy students. The students were randomly classified into two groups; lecture (14 people) and work in small group (15 people). Students were educated for 4 sessions. Two separate questionnaires were used to assess learning and satisfaction levels.Results: Overall satisfaction in small group was significantly greater than lecture group (P<0.0001). However, there was no significant difference between learning levels of the methods (p>0.05). 86.7% of students in small groups preferred to be educated in the future semesters using this teaching method.Conclusion: This study showed the role of small group teaching on increasing students' satisfaction level. Due to increased satisfaction in small group, despite the lack of significant difference between the two methods of learning, learning process can be facilitated .Thus this method is recommended for education of the undergraduate students.