A comparison of interactive computerized medical education software with a more traditional teaching format

Background: Computer-assisted instruction in medicine appears rofacilitare learning, but it has not been compared prospectively to more traditional reaching methods. Purpose: To compare the efficacy of computer-assisted instruction to a more traditional format in medical students' acquisition of clinical acid-base problem-solving skills. Methods: 2nd-year medical students at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (N = 82) were randomized into 2 groups. Thirty-seven received computer-assisted instruction in acid-base problem-solving skills, and 45 were enrolled in a teacher-supervised workshop. Preinstruction and postinstruction questionnaires, as well as a 25-question test, were administered to all students. Results: Analysis of the preinstruction questionnaire demonstrated that the students' preferred method of learning was the teacher supervised workshop (50%) followed by reading (39.5%). Fifty-eight percent of the students did not use computers at all. Of the remaining 42%, average computer use was 5.9 days per month. At the end of the course, both groups felt equally prepared for the test. When asked, ''If you had a choice to team the material again, which would you choose: workshop, reading, or computer-assisted instruction?'' 93% of the supervised-workshop group chose the workshop, whereas 53% of the computer-assisted instruction group chose computer-assisted instruction (p < .001). No significant difference between the groups was demonstrated in performance on postinstruction recall questions. We did, however, find a significant difference favoring the workshop group in postinstruction problem-solving skills (p = .04). Conclusions: Computer-assisted instruction can be as effective as a teacher-supervised workshop in transmitting clinical acid-base knowledge skills to medical students. The students, however, do not appear inclined to rely solely on computer programs for learning and seem to benefit from teacher-student interaction in learning problem-solving skills.