title: Medical biochemistry: Is it time to change the teaching style?
abstract: The Medical Council of India (MCI) recommendations on medical education suggest a shift from didactic lectures to more interactive lectures. This study assessed the effectiveness of different pedagogical methods in biochemistry and the perceptions of students and teachers about the shift from didactic to interactive lectures.
  
  
  
  An interventional crossover study was done with the topic divided into three biochemical modules and one clinical module. The students were divided into two batches, one of which was given didactic and the other, interactive lectures. They were assessed immediately after the lecture and four months later. Anonymous feedback was obtained to gauge the students' perceptions regarding the mode of teaching. The teachers' feedback on the use of both pedagogical styles was also obtained.
  
  
  
  There was no significant difference between the performance of the two groups in either examination in three of the modules. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups' performance in the module that had clinical applications, with students from the interactive lecture group performing better. All students preferred interactive classes, irrespective of the topic taught. The teachers indicated that, although at the outset the interactive lectures were difficult to manage, both in terms of content and time, these drawbacks could be overcome with time and practice.
  
  
  
  Interactive lectures are an effective teaching method in biochemistry, especially in topics involving clinical application.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College, Kolenchery 682311, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Jeeji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Palocaren
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College, Kolenchery 682311, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Lekha S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Pillai
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College, Kolenchery 682311, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Celine
mesh_terms: D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data