Abstract

Background:
Medical education often relies on traditional didactic lectures that promote passive learning. Given the shift toward competency-based medical education, there is an increasing demand for active learning approaches. Team-based learning (TBL) promotes active student participation.

Aim:
This study aimed to compare the effects of traditional didactic lectures with TBL on the performance of first-year medical students.

Methods:
A quasi-experimental design was conducted involving 119 MBBS Phase I students. Assessments were conducted using multiple-choice questions administered via Google Forms. The pre-test, post-test, and application exercise scores were used for assessment.

Results:
The results indicate that both traditional didactic lectures and TBL are effective in enhancing student learning, as evidenced by the improvements in post-test scores compared to pre-test scores. In the application exercise, the average score of Group 2 TBL was 68%, significantly outperforming Group 1 (didactic lectures) with a score of 44% (p = 0.000).

Conclusion:
This study provides compelling evidence that TBL is superior to traditional didactic lectures in enhancing undergraduate medical education, particularly in applied physiology.

Key words: Team-based learning, Traditional didactic lecture, Readiness assurance tests