Utilizing a Hybrid Faculty-Guided, Self-Directed Study Model to Teach Immunology to First-Year Medical Students

TL;DR

This study shows that a hybrid teaching model with online and in-person components can effectively teach immunology to medical students.

Contribution

The study introduces a hybrid learning model for immunology education and evaluates its effectiveness across multiple cohorts.

Findings

Student performance remained consistent across hybrid cohorts except for a fully virtual cohort in 2020.

Students appreciated the flexibility and self-paced nature of the hybrid model.

Hybrid models can reduce in-person contact while maintaining educational quality.

Abstract

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a hybrid, faculty-guided, self-directed learning model for teaching immunology to first-year medical students. It compares summative exam performance across five cohorts (2017–2021). The 2021 pilot course incorporated asynchronous videos, quizzes, and in-person sessions. Results show consistent performance across cohorts, except for the 2020 fully virtual cohort, which scored below the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) average. Student feedback highlighted the benefits of the hybrid model, particularly its flexibility and self-paced learning. These findings suggest that hybrid models can be used effectively to teach complex subjects like immunology with reduced in-person contact.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-025-02330-x.

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