Advances in Medical Education and Practice
Academic Performance and Student-Reported Learning Experiences of International Medical Students in an Integrated Biomedical Course: A Mixed-Methods Observational Study of "Molecules, Cells and Tissues”
By Aksara Regmi, Cihang Qian, Jie Yang and 3 others.
Abstract
Background
Integrated preclinical courses commonly combine Team-Based Learning, TBL and Case-Based Learning, CBL with the aim of supporting active participation and clinical contextualization. Evidence from multilingual international medical programs remains limited. This study described academic performance patterns and student-reported learning experiences in the integrated course "Molecules, Cells and Tissues, MCT” and compared historical academic records labeled offline or online.
Methods
We conducted a single-institution mixed-methods observational evaluation using three analytically separate samples: 194 academic records (105 labeled offline and 89 labeled online), 82 post-course questionnaire responses, and 10 semi-structured interviews. Academic outcomes were compared using Welch’s independent-samples t -tests. An exploratory linear model examined examination-score associations with categorical Mandarin proficiency and delivery label using HC3 heteroskedasticity-robust inference. Survey results were summarized descriptively, interview data were analyzed thematically, and the three sources were integrated only during interpretation.