Comparing Two Instructing Methods: Instructor-Based (Traditional Lecture) and Student-Based (Class Conference), in Healthcare Learning in Kashan Medical Science University

Evaluating different methods of profound learning and efficient memorizing is a vital solution for medical science students because of the importance of this science. The present study overviews the comparison between the traditional instructing and the class conference methods. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 50 students of Kashan in 2016 and 2017 selected by available sampling method. For the first group (25 students), instructing was performed via traditional lecture, and the second (25 students) experienced class conference approach. At the end of each semester, the satisfaction questionnaire assessment and knowledge of the students distributed among the subjects and filled out, then analyzed by SPSS 16 software. The mean scores obtained from traditional lecture and class conference approaches were 95 with 4.2 ± 0.41 and 96 with 4.44 ± 0.36, respectively (T = 0.6, P = 0.06), which demonstrated no significant difference. Furthermore, the students' satisfaction level of lecture and conference was measured as 3.87 ± 0.41 and 4.58 ± 0.25, respectively, which revealed a significant difference (P = 0.04). Although the two instructing approaches used in this study did not considerably affect the final scores of the students, and no statistically significant difference was observed among the students for the two methods, class conference could mostly draw attention of the students. Therefore, extended research on applying student-based rather than instructor-based approaches is suggested.