Shaji Sreedhar1, Sandeep Appunni2
BACKGROUND
Remedial teaching is an educational programme for increasing the academic
performance of poorly performing students in a curriculum. Remedial teaching is
finding specific learning difficulties in low achieving learners who are lagging
behind in academics and providing them with necessary support and guidance to
bring their academic performance closer to the required standard and to prevent
them from occurring in future.
METHODS
This quasi-experimental study was conducted among first year medical students
at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala from December 2019 to
February 2020. All the sixty-four students who scored less than 50 % of marks in
Biochemistry first internal examination were identified as poor performers. They
were divided in to two groups, A and B, each consisting of thirty-two students by
simple random method. The study skills of group A and group B students were
assessed using study skills assessment questionnaire. They were also assessed on
non-academic problems that affect their studies through open-ended interviews.
Both the group students received academic support that included conceptual
learning, logical thinking, reasoning skills and answering methods. In addition,
group A students were given remedial teaching comprising study skills training,
counselling sessions and motivation classes. At the end of eight weeks, a
summative assessment was conducted for both the groups. A four-point Likert
scale feedback questionnaire on remedial teaching was collected from group A
students. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) version 16.
RESULTS
The mean mark of group A that received remedial teaching was significantly higher
(P < 0.0001) than group B. The difference in mean marks between pre-test and
post-test in group A was statistically significant (P < 0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS
Remedial teaching sessions are effective for improving the academic performance
of poorly performing students in the subject of Biochemistry.
