Mass Learning, Spaced Learning, Microsurgery Clinical Trial
Official title:
Randomized Prospective Study Comparing the Effectiveness of Massed and Spaced Learning in Microsurgical Procedures
Title: Randomized prospective study comparing the effectiveness of spaced learning to mass
learning in microsurgical procedures.
Background:
Spacing phenomenon occurs when learning outcomes are greater with the teaching process spread
out over time (spaced learning), as opposed to having the same total duration of teaching
carried out over a single session (mass learning). Spaced learning has been shown to improve
explicit memory tasks including free recall, recognition, cued -recall and frequency
estimation. It has been used in various medical specialties with promising results and has
been shown to be at least as good as mass training in learning clinical skills such as
cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and laparoscopy skills.
We aim to test the concept of spaced learning in learning delicate and complex skilled
procedures like microsurgery. Our hypothesis is that spaced learning is better than mass
learning in acquiring microsurgical suturing skills.
Methodology:
Medical students with no prior exposure to microsurgical training were randomized into
control (mass-learning) and treatment (spaced learning) groups. The students were all taught
to handle microsurgical instruments and to suture a prefabricated 4mm wide elastic strip
under the microscope using Digital Surgicals MicroTrainer. The control group was taught
continuously over 8hrs while the treatment group was taught in 2-hour sessions held each week
over a span of 4 weeks. The learning outcomes that were measured included duration taken as
well as the placement of the sutures in relation to each other, with the latter being
objectively assessed with the use of a computer program from Digital Surgicals. In addition
to being assessed at the beginning of the sessions, all participants completed another test 1
month after the completion of the sessions.
n/a