Effect of debriefing guide on student perceptions of tutor performance in problem-based learning

Abstract

Background: Content non-expert PBL tutors face difficulty helping students determine the extent and depth of study they should carry out. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate student perceptions of tutor performance following use of content non-expert tutors of debriefing guides. Methods: This study used a cross sectional design. A self-administered 15-item questionnaire with a Cronbach’s alpha reliability of 0.81 was used. One hundred and three 2nd and 3rd year medical students at Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences at Libyan International Medical University, Benghazi, Libya were asked to assess their tutors’ performance using this questionnaire. A 5 point Likert scale was used for rating. The data were analyzed using descriptive measures and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The mean score for the 15 items on the questionnaire was 3.79 (SD ± 0.5) and ranged from 3.56 to 4.25. There were no statistically significant differences between males and females (p= 0.478) or between 2nd and 3rd year students(p=0.272). Conclusions:Thisstudyshowsthatstudentsasagroupbelievethattheuseofthedebriefingguidehas a positive effect on tutor performance. The debriefing guide might help in bridging the knowledge gap of content non-experts and reduce the variation in student learning among individual students and groups.