Background: Recently, there has been a progressive reduction in the use of animals for teaching purpose due to ethical consideration. Computer-assisted learning (CAL) is one of the non-animal alternatives in experimental pharmacology to simulate the live experiment using animals. Although it offers benefits of being reproducible, time saving, and having minimum errors, it has its own drawbacks.
Aims and Objectives: The present study is undertaken to study the effectiveness of CAL by comparing demonstration method using live animals and CAL method among 2nd year MBBS students.
Materials and Methods: A total of 71 students participated in the study. They were given a set of multiple‑choice questions (MCQs) on a selected topic (effect of diazepam on mice using Rotarod apparatus) after demonstration of experiment using animals. Later, CAL was performed by all the students followed by the same set of MCQs. A student feedback questionnaire based on the 5-point Likert scale was also given to all the students to get their opinion about the simulation experiments.
Results: The students had a better average score in CAL method as compared to the method using animals (82.4% vs. 44.6%). Based on feedback, majority of students (70%) agreed in favor of CAL.
Conclusion: The effectiveness of CAL in teaching experimental pharmacology has been demonstrated and students agreed that CAL assisted them in understanding the topic better as the effects were visualized on the screen clearly. Thereby, such simulations should be considered as an essential component of the standard curriculum.
Key words: Computer-assisted Learning; Experimental Pharmacology; Feedback Questionnaire; Medical Students
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