Knowledge Acquisition through Computer-Based Training: Histology of the Skin in Basic Medical Education

In 2002, the medical university of Graz launched an e-learning program to support face-to-face teaching and to facilitate blended learning. Computer-based training, which provides branching tutorial programs with elaborate feedback, is widely used in pre-clinical and clinical years. In the present study, we examined the potential of computer-based training for facilitating the acquisition of explicit knowledge in a pre-clinical topic. Content analysis of essays prepared by 42 students before and after computer-based training showed a highly significant increase in knowledge (21+-10 hits compared to 54+-28; t-test for paired values: t=8.41, p<0.001). Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between essay content on one hand and the scoring in computer-based training on the other. Our study shows that computer-based training does not only drill the response to particular frames, but significantly supports knowledge acquisition in an undergraduate medical setting.