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A Comparison of a Lecture and Computer Program to Teach Fundamentals of the Draw-a-Person Test
Aaron E. Carroll, MD;
M. William Schwartz, MD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156:137-140.
Background Although computer-assisted education has been used to augment education
in many areas, there are few studies of programs designed to replace lectures
in a medical curriculum.
Objective To test whether a thoughtfully designed computer program can replace
a standard lecture in a pediatrics curriculum while teaching the subject matter
equally well.
Methods A computer program was developed to teach the Draw-a-Person developmental
test using the multimedia-authoring tool Director. One of us (A.E.C.) tested
and modified the program several times during its creation after submitting
it to several objective evaluators. Thirty-nine students taking the clinical
pediatrics rotation were chosen by month to interact with the program or attend
the lecture. All students then scored 3 drawings and assigned them a developmental
age according to the Draw-a-Person test rules. Students assigned to the computer
program also completed a questionnaire evaluating the program in several subjective
areas. A t test for 2 samples assuming equal variance was used
to analyze the test results.
Results Students receiving the lecture (control group) scored the 3 drawings
as 5.43 years (age range, 4.5-8 years), 9.08 years (age range, 7-12 years),
and 3.5 years (age range, 2-5 years), respectively. Those using the computer
program (study group) scored the 3 drawings as 5.91 years (age range, 5-7
years), 7.68 years (age range, 7-8 years), and 4.34 years (age range, 3-5
years), respectively. The correct answers for the ages were 6, 7.75, and 4.25
years, respectively. A t test for 2 samples assuming equal variance
showed that students using the computer program performed better on all 3
drawings (P<.05, P<.02,
and P<.002, respectively).
Conclusions Students using the computer program were more accurate than students
attending the lecture when scoring drawings and estimating a developmental
age from them. These results support the conclusion that a thoughtfully designed
computer program can replace a standard lecture in a pediatrics curriculum.
From the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Seattle, Wash
(Dr Carroll); and the Departments of Pediatrics, University of Washington,
Seattle (Dr Carroll) and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Dr Schwartz).
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