NCT01286025

Comparing the Effect of Video-cases and Text-cases on Medical Students' Learning in Tutorial

A Randomized Crossover Study to Compare the Critical Thinking of Medical Students When Using Video-based or Written Cases

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 28 (actual)
• Sponsor: Harvard University Faculty of Medicine · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study is designed to examine how the type of learning case affects the thinking of medical students in tutorial

Detailed description

Tutorials at Harvard Medical School use problem-based learning with written cases. Students work in groups under the supervision of a tutor who guides their exploration of the material. As students progress through the curriculum there is an opportunity to advance the complexity of the material they are presented with. Video-based patient case studies have been shown to improve critical thinking ratios in paediatric medical student problem-based learning exercises, and time spent on data exploration, theory building and theory evaluation in postgraduate residency programs. We hypothesize that video provides a stimulus that improves cognitive processing and critical thinking among medical students, as compared to working from the text-based transcript of the same case.

Conditions

• Education, Medical
• Education, Medical, Undergraduate
• Problem-based Learning
• Problem Solving
• Interactive Tutorial

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	video case modality	Patients whose case histories are pathophysiologically illustrative will be recruited, and interviewed on video. Their stories will be edited and divided into sections, and combined with the patient's laboratory, imaging, and pathological reports when appropriate
BEHAVIORAL	Text case modality	Patients whose case histories are pathophysiologically illustrative will be recruited, and interviewed on video. Their stories will be edited and divided into sections, and combined with the patient's laboratory, imaging, and pathological reports when appropriate. The transcript of these video-recordings will form the basis of the text-based case presentation modality.

Timeline

• Start date: 2008-02-01
• Primary completion: 2009-02-01
• Completion: 2009-02-01
• First posted: 2011-01-31
• Last updated: 2011-01-31

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States