• Meghan F Raleigh, Garland Anthony Wilson, David Alan Moss, Kristen A Reineke-Piper, Jeffrey Walden, Daniel J Fisher, Tracy Williams, Christienne Alexander, Brock Niceler, Anthony J Viera, and Todd Zakrajsek.
• Department of Family Medicine at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, and Patient-Centered Medical Home, Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, Fort Polk, LA.
• Fam Med. 2018 Feb 1; 50 (2): 100-105.

Background And ObjectivesThere is a push to use classroom technology and active teaching methods to replace didactic lectures as the most prevalent format for resident education. This multisite collaborative cohort study involving nine residency programs across the United States compared a standard slide-based didactic lecture, a facilitated group discussion via an engaged classroom, and a high-fidelity, hands-on simulation scenario for teaching the topic of acute dyspnea. The primary outcome was knowledge retention at 2 to 4 weeks.MethodsEach teaching method was assigned to three different residency programs in the collaborative according to local resources. Learning objectives were determined by faculty. Pre- and posttest questions were validated and utilized as a measurement of knowledge retention. Each site administered the pretest, taught the topic of acute dyspnea utilizing their assigned method, and administered a posttest 2 to 4 weeks later. Differences between the groups were compared using paired t-tests.ResultsA total of 146 residents completed the posttest, and scores increased from baseline across all groups. The average score increased 6% in the standard lecture group (n=47), 11% in the engaged classroom (n=53), and 9% in the simulation group (n=56). The differences in improvement between engaged classroom and simulation were not statistically significant.ConclusionsCompared to standard lecture, both engaged classroom and high-fidelity simulation were associated with a statistically significant improvement in knowledge retention. Knowledge retention after engaged classroom and high-fidelity simulation did not significantly differ. More research is necessary to determine if different teaching methods result in different levels of comfort and skill with actual patient care.

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