Effects of contrasting equivalent teaching approaches on student ratings.

One of the most active areas in educational research in recent years has centered on the method of problem-based learning (PBL). The advantages of PBL methods have prompted educators to investigate and implement PBL activities in the clinical science classroom. The purpose of this exploratory study was to note any difference in students' faculty ratings, when viewed as a whole, between one group of students taught with traditional didactic lectures as compared with a group of students taught using a PBL method in a clinical science course. There was no significant difference in aggregate survey outcomes between the two groups. When viewed individually, there was one question ("instructor shows a genuine interest in my performance or progress") that showed a significant difference (p < or = 0.05).