Objective: To determine the learning outcomes in otolaryngology education, comparing the traditional lecture-based classroom with the flipped classroom combined with a case-based approach.

Materials and Methods: The participants were fourth year medical students and divided into two groups, the traditional classroom group and the flipped classroom group. The topic “vertigo” was chosen for the content of the present study. The traditional groups were assigned to attend a didactic lecture. The flipped group were assigned to watch the video lecture and answer the quizzes on the online application “Edpuzzle”, and they used time during the in-class activity for case-based discussion and role playing involving the doctor-patient interaction. All participants completed a questionnaire, and the final assessment scores.

Results: Two hundred thirty-nine medical students were enrolled. Some 113 students participated in the traditional group, and 126 students participated in the flipped group. The knowledge assessment in the flipped group had significantly higher scores than those from the traditional group (p=0.042 and <0.001 respectively). Objective structured clinical examination scores and the score of some items in the questionnaires were also significantly higher in the flipped group than in the traditional group (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The implementation of the flipped classroom consists of pre-class activities using an instructor-developed video and a free online application, combined with a case-based approach during the in-class activity appears to be more effective in terms of medical students gaining knowledge and skills on otolaryngology education compared with the traditional instruction method.

Keywords: Flipped classroom; Otolaryngology; Vertigo; Technology; Active learning

DOI: doi.org/10.35755/jmedassocthai.2021.07.12604

Received 22 February 2021 | Revised 21 April 2021 | Accepted 21 April 2021