From technique mastery to scientific thinking: how open-ended experiments shape medical students' perception of laboratory course roles in China

Abstract

Background Basic science education is universally acknowledged as a pivotal component of medical education. In China, medical students undergo significant preclinical training but often lack scientific thinking. As China transitions to a knowledge-intensive nation, addressing this gap is crucial. This research aims to qualitatively and quantitatively examine how sophomore medical students perceive the roles of basic laboratory courses, assess whether open-ended experiments can change these perceptions, and qualitatively determine their feelings towards experienced open-ended experiments. Methods This study has an interventional design, surveying students before and after an open-ended experiment to evaluate its impact on their perceptions of the roles of the basic laboratory course. Quantitative methods, including frequency analysis, Kendall's W test, the chi-square test, and an independent t test, were used to analyse the rankings of the roles of basic laboratory courses thoroughly. Moreover, qualitative thematic analysis provides insights into students' experiences with the open-ended experiments. Results The study revealed that the students in the historical control groups considered learning to master experimental operation techniques as the most important role of the laboratory courses, whereas the students in the post-intervention groups regarded cultivating scientific thinking as the most crucial role. Compared with the historical control groups, the post-intervention groups attached greater importance to the role of cultivating scientific thinking, which was statistically significant. The main concerns and experiences of the open-ended experiments discussed by participants from the historical control groups were summarized into two themes: “negatively biased feelings of open-ended experiments” and “inappropriate for open-ended experiments at present”. However, the two major themes that emerged from the post-intervention groups are “positively biased feelings of open-ended experiments” and “moderate and appropriate open-ended experiments at present”. Conclusions This study revealed that medical students’ perceptions of the roles of laboratory courses were influenced by experimental teaching methods. Open-ended experiments have emerged as effective tools for fostering scientific thinking. This research emphasizes the importance of refining teaching methods in the preclinical phase to foster an environment conducive for enhancing the scientific thinking of Chinese students and the overall effectiveness of medical education. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-024-06325-x.