Sub-Saharan African Journal of Medicine

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year
: 2014  |  Volume : 1  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 91--94

Impact of PowerPoint Presentation on the Academic Performance of Medical Students of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria


Abdul-Aziz Hassan1, Isa A Usman2, Sani Awwalu1, Livingstone G Dogara1, Lucky Okpetu1, Garba Yahaya1, Ismaila N Ibrahim1,  
1 Department of Haematology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria
2 Department of Haematology, Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

Correspondence Address:
Abdul-Aziz Hassan
Department of Haematology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, PMB 06 Shika, Zaria 8100, Kaduna State
Nigeria

Abstract

Context: Teaching of medical students in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) has been by conventional lecture methods. However, in other parts of the world, there has been a shift toward the use of PowerPoint and other computer-aided instructions (CAI). The conventional lecture method is said to encourage rote learning, whereas CAI is considered to improve students�SQ� performance as information is presented in the form of �DQ�reality.�DQ� This study was conducted to determine the effect of PowerPoint presentation of lectures on the academic performance of students at ABU Zaria. Aims: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of PowerPoint presentation of lectures on the academic performance of 400 level medical students of ABU Zaria. Materials and Methods: It was a quasi-experimental technique, divided students into control (67) and experimental (67) groups. Pre- and post-test were conducted on the complications of blood transfusion. The experimental group was taught with PowerPoint using pictures, diagrams and algorithms, while the control group was taught with white board and marker. The mean pre- and post-test scores were compared using the t-test of significance (P < 0.05). Statistical Analysis Used: Student�SQ�s t-test. Results: The mean pre- and post-test scores of the control (conventional) and experimental (CAI) groups were 54.3 versus 53.6 (P > 0.05) and 74.0 versus 80.5 (P < 0.05), respectively. Conclusion: PowerPoint presentation significantly improves the academic performance of medical students more than conventional lecture method. It is recommended that medical tutors should be encouraged to use PowerPoint in delivering lectures to students.



How to cite this article:
Hassan AA, Usman IA, Awwalu S, Dogara LG, Okpetu L, Yahaya G, Ibrahim IN. Impact of PowerPoint Presentation on the Academic Performance of Medical Students of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.Sub-Saharan Afr J Med 2014;1:91-94


How to cite this URL:
Hassan AA, Usman IA, Awwalu S, Dogara LG, Okpetu L, Yahaya G, Ibrahim IN. Impact of PowerPoint Presentation on the Academic Performance of Medical Students of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Sub-Saharan Afr J Med [serial online] 2014 [cited 2024 Mar 28 ];1:91-94
Available from: https://www.ssajm.org/text.asp?2014/1/2/91/136820


Full Text

 INTRODUCTION



Orthodox medical education was formally started in Nigeria by the establishment of the University College Hospital in 1948 as an Annex of University of London Medical School. [1] However, by the 1960s the second generation medical schools were opened in Zaria, Lagos, and Ife. [1] Since then medical schools have been established by federal, state governments and even private universities and by the end of year 2013, there were over 32 medical schools with a combined admitting capacity of 2725 students. [1],[2]

The most common mode of instruction in most medical schools in Nigeria is pedagogical mainly through the conventional lecture method. [3] The conventional lecture method commonly involves the use of black or white board with chalk or marker and has the advantage of being cheap/economical, with the teacher in control. [3] Good lectures can deliver new material and synthesize concepts. [4] However, the lecture method may have some drawbacks such as lack of feedback, boring, and lacks stimulus for learning. [4],[5] Therefore, in the teaching of medical students it is advocated that medical teachers use a variety of teaching methods and instruction materials. [6]

Medical teachers in Nigeria are faced with the challenges of staff shortages, lack of modern teaching and learning facilities, e.g., computers, projectors, and multimedia gadgets. There is also lack of formal training of medical graduates before taking up teaching positions in Nigerian Medical Schools. [1],[7] The use of chalk and black or white board has been the traditional instructional material in most medical schools. However, the black or white boards are gradually been replaced with computer-aided instructional (CAI) materials such as PowerPoint, computer generated slides, video and audio clips. [8] These new technologies have been said to have advantages over conventional lecture methods. [4] However, in the hands of the untrained PowerPoint has some disadvantages such as being monotonous and reduced teacher-student interaction. [9]

The use of these new instructional materials brings up new challenges to both the medical teacher and the medical students because most medical teachers in Nigeria are not trained in both conventional lecture method or the new teaching technologies and instructional materials. [1],[7] This study was therefore intended to assess the impact of PowerPoint lecture presentation on the academic performance of 400 level medical students of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria in Blood transfusion course.

 MATERIALS AND METHODS



The study was a prospective study carried out among 400 level medical students of ABU Zaria. It was conducted in June 2013 and adopted the pre- and post-test, experimental-control group design. Two groups of students were used as Experimental and Control group, respectively. A total of 126 students made up of 31 females and 95 males who voluntarily were entered by convenient sampling into the study. They were divided into two groups: Experimental group (computer aided teaching - with PowerPoint and video clips) and control group (conventional lecture teaching - use of white board and marker only). The two groups were pretested prior to treatment administration, which was done concurrently using multiple choice questions on complications of blood transfusion, which was validated by two senior lecturers; the reliability coefficient of the questions was 0.70. The two groups of students were taught concurrently the same topics in complications of blood transfusion over 2 lessons. The same questions were re-administered immediately after the second lecture (posttest). Research design is illustrated [Figure 1].{Figure 1}

The multiple choice questions (complications of blood transfusion achievement test) were made up of 20 stem and five options for the student to mark true or false, each correct response earned the student 1 mark. The percentage score for individual student and for the two groups from the pre-and post-test were then compared using Students' t-test and the level of significance was set at P < 0.05.

 RESULTS



The mean pretest score for the experimental and control groups were 53.6% and 54.3% (P = 0.68) respectively, while the mean posttest score for the experimental and control groups were 80.5% and 74.0%, respectively (P = 0.001). The mean pretest score for male and female students were 55.6% and 49.8%, respectively (P = 0.064), while the mean posttest mean score for male and female students were 74.4 and 72.7, respectively (P = 0.43) [Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3], [Table 4], [Table 5].{Table 1}{Table 2}{Table 3}{Table 4}{Table 5}

 DISCUSSION



This study established that there is no statistically significant difference in the mean pretest score of the experimental and control groups (P = 0.68). Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean pretest score of the male and female medical students. This finding has further strengthened the study because the level of knowledge of the students was the same at the outset. The finding that there is no statistically significant finding between male and female students performance at pre- and posttest for both the experimental and control group indicate that PowerPoint both forms of instructions are gender friendly.

The statistically significant finding that the medical students in the experimental group performed better than those in the conventional group may be due to the fact that students preferred the PowerPoint method than conventional lecture method as described by Seth et al. in an Indian study. [10] Similarly in University of Port-Harcourt Medical School in Nigeria a study by Onotai et al. found that the majority of students preferred the CAI using PowerPoint than the conventional chalk and board method. [11]

The finding in this study agrees with the report of Seth et al. [12] that students of pharmacology in an Indian Medical College performed better when taught using CAI than the chalk and board. [11] However, another study from a different Indian Medical College reported that there is no statistically significant difference in the performance of students in an anatomy course taught by CAI or chalk and board, [12] while a study from Saudi Arabia found that there is no statistically significant difference in the performance of medical students taught by PowerPoint or chalkboard, [13] but a significantly better performance for those taught by a combination of CAI and chalkboard. [14]

Even though, this study has proved that PowerPoint improves the academic performance among 400 level medical students in a blood transfusion course at ABU Zaria, PowerPoint should be used by teachers who are trained on the methods of using these instructional materials to avoid misuse as described by Edward Tufte who said "PowerPoint makes us stupid". [15]

Limitations of the study

This study was only limited to one class and one faculty while sampling was by convenient method.

 CONCLUSION



Computer-aided instructions with PowerPoint and video and audio clips improve academic performance of medical students compared to conventional chalk and board teaching method. Thus, it is recommended that medical teachers/lectures should be trained and retrained on the use of CAI and the university administration through the faculty should encourage its use and provide the appropriate equipments and enabling environment for use of PowerPoint to improve the academic performance of all students in ABU.

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