Abstract

Medical education is in the midst of a major tectonic shift in the 21st century, with the increasing classroom size that has its inherent problem of student engagement and facilitation of learning for better outcomes. Lecture followed by fish-bowl discussion can be used as one of the strategies to reinforce the content of lecture. Material & Methods: An observational study was conducted by taking a lecture on National Health Mission for 20 min, followed by assessment (post lecture assessment). After the lecture, fish-Bowl activity was conducted for 30 min on 60 students. Each of 30 students in each demonstration room were divided into inner and outer circle (i.e. 15in each circle) by assigned them respective numbers as 1 & 2, all the 1 form inner circle and all 2’s form outer circle. The same topic which was taught in lecture was allotted for discussion for 10 min. Discussion was guided by teachers in each demonstration room and followed by plenary presentation for 5 minutes. At the end, Post fish-bowl assessment and feedback was taken. The same activity was done in another demo-room on remaining 30 students. Result: There was a statistical improvement in post fishbowl score (Mean=6.0) than post lecture(Mean=3.7).Lecture followed by fish bowl discussions stimulated interest in the class 86.7% of the students; 70% students were able to retain information better. Conclusion: Combination of lecture and fish bowl is a better satisfying teaching technique for the students in some difficult topics.

Description