Perception of MBBS students to 'flipped class room' approach in neuroanatomy module

A flipped classroom is a learner centered approach in which the learner is responsible to attend the class with basic understanding of the subject to fully participate and engage in discussions. The aim of this study was to evaluate students' perception of flipped classroom approach for neuroanatomy module and assess the impact on their performance and attitudes. The subject chosen to evaluate the flipped classroom model for first year medical students was clinical neuroanatomy. One hundred and thirty first year medical students participated in the study module. Students were divided into five groups and five case scenarios pertaining to various clinically relevant regions of the neuraxis, with varying anatomical complexity were generated. The pre- and post-tests were designed to specifically test the declared learning objectives of the session. The perception of the students regarding this model of teaching and learning was also evaluated. Eighty-six percent of students felt that the flipped classroom approach was better at fulfilling the stated learning objectives than the conventional didactic teaching, 92% felt that the work-sheet with questions provided prior to the class enabled a better understanding of the subject and 87% were of the opinion that the web sources with references kindled a greater interest to read as compared with didactic lectures. The paired t test showed highly significant differences between the pre and post-test scores. Student response to the flipped classroom structure was largely positive, indicating it to be an approach worth pursuing in future years.