Dr Carol Chase teaches Histology to second-semester first-year and first-semester second-year medical students at the Tygerberg (medical) Campus. In the former medical and dental curriculum, Histology was taught as a separate subject. In the current medical curriculum, however, it is included in the preclinical modules, making up a maximum of a mere 10 percent of the overall mark for these modules. This means that students can pass without knowing any histology. Often students candidly admit to not having studied for histology at all. They say they would rather use more time to study physiology or anatomy. To make matters worse, the classes are very large – approximately 200 students – and diverse, often making it difficult to achieve sufficient interaction. Dr Chase also felt that she was not a very entertaining lecturer which, on top of the odds against Histology, made the idea of lecturing a daunting task for her.
With these factors in mind, Dr Chase decided to try a different teaching method. With the help of the Centre for Teaching and Learning she started to implement a group-work system in class.
The students were given a self-study task to complete, in writing, before each lecture. These self-study tasks comprised notes with a set of questions attached to each. In the class, the students divided into groups of four. Dr Chase assigned a secretary for every group to check the work of each group member. Secretaries were assigned alphabetically according to their surnames and were rotated at each session. If group members’ work was complete, the secretary allocated two incentive marks without taking into account whether the answers were correct or not. Groups would then commence to discuss the questions and clarify possible disagreements or uncertainties. In order to be able to attend to all the groups, Dr Chase enlisted the help of other staff during these sessions. Her helpers were both medically qualified and well-qualified technical staff who did not possess MB,ChB degrees. At the end of each session, students submitted their work, after which Dr Chase spot-checked about 10 percent of the papers and gave the class feedback during a subsequent session.
Most of the students completed the self-study tasks and participated in the group work. Class attendance and the level of interaction during these sessions were very good. Dr Chase specifically noted the animated nature of the discussions and the fact that students seemed to enjoy the new method of peer-learning. This seems to be supported by the fact that the student feedback for this new method was very positive. Besides the in-class interaction, this approach also allowed students to work at their own pace while answering the self-study questions. It shifted the responsibility for learning to the student.
Dr Chase adds that her teaching practice benefited from this initiative. Discussions during the sessions at times highlighted problems with the way questions were phrased, which made her more aware of how she set her questions. That led her to reflect on the purpose of various assessment tasks. This method also encouraged the students to challenge her thinking, which she found enjoyable.
Group work needs to be well-organised, especially in large classes, otherwise it will not work, Dr Chase says. One also needs to be prepared to continue even if things do not immediately work as you had hoped. Dr Chase explains that the incentive marks were introduced because many students initially did not do the questions before-hand. She also adds that the self-study questions need to be different every year, otherwise students will get the answers from the previous class without working through the questions themselves. It is preferable for secretaries of groups to be assigned by the lecturer, since voting takes up time and potentially results in the same person doing it every time.
Dr Chase notes that she called herself a “reluctant lecturer” before she tried out this method of teaching, as she was very conscious of not being an entertainer. Since making this method her own, she says, she has found her work very fulfilling.
In 2001 Dr Chase received the Rector's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
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