title: Making physiology learning memorable: a mobile phone-assisted case-based instructional strategy.
abstract: The goal of the present study was to determine whether an active learning/teaching strategy facilitated with mobile technologies can improve students' levels of memory retention of key physiological concepts. We used a quasiexperimental pretest/posttest nonequivalent group design to compare the test performances of second-year medical students (n = 311) taught by conventional didactic methods (traditional group) with those involved in a case-based problem-solving learning approach facilitated with mobile phones as web-based "clickers" (experimental group). Using their cell phones, students answered the same questions about the key physiological concepts three times. A pretest to determine their baseline knowledge was followed by two followup tests after 1 wk and 2 mo, respectively. The experimental group scored a mean of 93.2% correct items after 1 wk and 84.8% correct items after 2 mo [95% confidence intervals: (89.4, 97.0) and (79.4, 90.3), respectively]. Compared with their colleagues in the traditional group who scored 33.3% [95% confidence interval: (18.9, 47.8)] and 38.5% [95% confidence interval: (23.6, 53.4)] correct items, respectively, this was a significant increase of ∼50% (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, for the experimental group, Cohen's effect size (d) values of d = 1.67 (1-wk posttest) and d = 1.38 (2-mo posttest) suggested a very high practical significance. In contrast, in the traditional group, Cohen's d values of d = 0.04 (1-wk posttest) and d = 0.15 (2-mo posttest) assumed a very low practical significance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia skukolja@gmail.com.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kukolja Taradi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taradi
mesh_terms: D040421:Cell Phone; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010827:Physiology / Q000193:education*; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000379:methods*; D013337:Students, Medical
keywords: active learning; personal response system; problem solving