The Influence of Mode of Instruction (Recorded Versus In-Person Lecture) on Student Achievement on Written Examinations in a Veterinary Clinical Toxicology Course

Abstract

The use of recorded on-line lecture presentation has increased in recent years in veterinary medical education. The effects of recorded on-line lectures on student knowledge acquisition are incompletely studied and there is very little information specifically addressing veterinary medical students. We studied the written examination performance of 373 third-year students spanning 4 calendar years (2017–2019, 2022) enrolled in a veterinary toxicology course which were exposed to either in-person lectures or recorded lectures of the exact same material. There was no difference in overall examination performance for students receiving on-line instruction compared to in-person lectures from the same instructor and instructional materials ( p = .254). However, students receiving in-person lectures compared to those that received recorded lectures demonstrated improved performance on exact matching questions (92.9% vs. 81.8%, respectively; p < .001). This study contributes to the limited body of knowledge regarding didactic instructional methodology in veterinary medicine. Further and more detailed studies are warranted to ensure optimal methods are employed in veterinary student instruction.