Time restriction and individual assessment of problem-based learning in pathophysiology
Keywords:
active learning; education, medical; problem-based learning; teachingAbstract
Introduction: Problem-based learning is a fundamental strategy in medical education, as it brings theoretical knowledge closer to professional practice.
Objective: To determine the impact of response time and individual performance on problem-based learning applied to students of health sciences programs.
Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-post comparison within the same group, without a control group, in 82 students of health sciences programs, between the traditional methodology and an intervention that incorporated the reduction of response time and the assessment of individual performance in clinical cases. A perception survey was applied, and performance and response time were compared before and after.
Results: Students perceived improvements in authenticity and integrity after the new methodology; the restriction of response time, in contrast, did not reach majority acceptance (45.1%). Grades decreased after the intervention (5.88 ± 0.73 vs. 5.62 ± 0.81), due to the individual assessment (5.05 ± 1.60).
Conclusions: The reduction of response time and the incorporation of individual performance lowered grades, driven by the individual assessment, with no association between the time spent and the grade obtained. Students valued the authenticity of the experience, although the time restriction did not reach majority acceptance.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Renán Orellana-Walden, Lizet Osorio, Lisbell Estrada, Angélica Rojas Cornejo, Iván Martínez

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