TY - JOUR T1 - The effect of teaching method for mechanical ventilation in respiratory therapy education JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 44 IS - Suppl 58 SP - 4818 AU - Lynda Goodfellow AU - Bandar Almasoudi Y1 - 2014/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/4818.abstract N2 - BACKGROUND: The Problem-based learning (PBL) approach is a common teaching technique in medical education, but its use in the field of respiratory therapy is somewhat controversial. Therefore, it is important to determine if this teaching model makes any difference in learning outcomes when compared to traditional teaching approaches. This study compared the cognitive abilities of students in mechanical ventilation in PBL and lecture-based programs. METHODS: Two universities with BS programs in respiratory therapy were chosen—one used PBL (15 participants) and one used a lecture-based method (24 participants). All 39 participants were given pre and post-tests containing 10 multiple-choice questions related to mechanical ventilation derived from the NBRC RRT written exam forms (C & D). RESULTS: The dependent t-test showed a significant difference between the pre and post-test of both the lecture-based and PBL groups, with p values of 0.006 and 0.025, respectively. The independent t-test showed a significant difference on the pre-test, favoring the lecture-based group (p = 0.039). However, the independent t-test showed no significant difference in the post-test (p=0.085). CONCLUSIONS: PBL is increasing in popularity despite the fact that studies of its efficacy have been thus far inconclusive. This study has shown PBL to be effective, but not significantly more effective than traditional lecture-based methods in improving student outcomes as measured by objective test scores. ER -