Silent student: negligent or shy?Background: The Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method has been established worldwide over the last decades. The student´s knowledge and their participation have become central parts of the whole process of learning, with active participation being expected of them. Some individuals might feel uncomfortable and present with difficulties to speak and participate when confronted with this situation, therefore being defined as “silent students”. In the literature, there are no specific definitions of the term “silent student”. The silent student may be seen as negligent and dysfunctional. Nevertheless, the studies about silence and communication tools are showing different conclusions.
Objectives: To evaluate the global achievement of the silent student compared to their peers.
Methods: Observational, cross-sectional study with an analytic component, developed at Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde. Tutors with more than one year of experience in the PBL method and students studying for more than one semester using the PBL method participated in the study. Students transferred to other institutions, or on medical/maternal leave, or the ones that had their course interrupted did not take part of the study. We developed a checklist and a tutorial video, sent via institutional e-mail, to all tutors of the first to the fourth years of the medical course at the institution; through this checklist and video they were able to identify all the silent students in their groups. After receiving the tutors’ answers, sociodemographic data and the scores of all the students were requested, separating them into silent and non-silent students. This information was analyzed and compared aiming to evaluate the global achievement of the silent student and their peers. This study followed Resolution n. 510/2016 and was submitted to the Research Ethics Committee and approved under CAAE number 47885021.0.0000.5569.
Results: When comparing silent students with their peers, it was observed that the mean scores were similar, with no statistical significance.
Conclusion: It seems that silent students are as qualified as their peers, learning and being qualified throughout medical formation.
Keywords:
problem-based learning; students; communication barriers