evaluating phase 2 mbbs students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the fish bowl technique combined with lecture in pathology

Background: traditional classroom lecture has been the backbone of medical education for a long time. though effective, it has inherent problems of active student engagement and facilitation of learning for better outcomes. in contrast, innovative small-group learning methods like the fish bowl technique promote active participation and foster learning.objectives: the study aims to analyze the combined utility of the fish bowl technique along with lecture and to compare students' perceptions of its effectiveness.methods: a quasi-experimental crossover study was conducted among second-phase medical undergraduate students in the department of pathology. the students were primed about the topic via a didactic lecture which was followed by a pre-test. the study consisted of 138 students, who were divided into six groups across 2 days/week (three batches/day), each group consisted of 23 students, and a fish bowl discussion was conducted. at the end of the session, a post-test was done and feedback was taken from students.results: there was statistical improvement in post-test scores of the fish bowl technique, a gain of 16.81% as compared to the pre-test score. lecture followed by fish bowl sessions stimulated more interest (75.36%), increased active participation (86.23%), and improved satisfaction of learning (73.91%) amongst students as compared to lecture only. the retention of the study subject, coverage of important concepts, and meaningful discussion was better with lecture along with fish bowl discussion.conclusion: the combination of traditional and fish bowl technique proved to be a positive learning experience for students. fish bowl is an effective student-centric method that piques curiosity, promotes active participation, and fosters critical thinking.