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

Purpose

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

Condition	Intervention
Education, Medical Education, Medical, Undergraduate Problem-based Learning Problem Solving Interactive Tutorial	Behavioral: video case modality Behavioral: Text case modality

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment Masking: Open Label Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Official Title:	A Randomized Crossover Study to Compare the Critical Thinking of Medical Students When Using Video-based or Written Cases

Further study details as provided by Harvard University Faculty of Medicine:

Primary Outcome Measures:

Overall ratio of deep to superficial thinking [ Time Frame: Four 90-minute tutorial sessions ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Depth of thinking will be evaluated using the method of Kamin et al. Transcription of each tutorial will be divided into utterances. Each utterance will be coded for depth of thinking (deep vs. superficial). The ratio of deep to superficial thinking by case modality will be reported.

Secondary Outcome Measures:

Distribution of learning activities [ Time Frame: Four 90-min tutorial sessions ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Transcription of each tutorial will be divided into utterances. Each utterance will be coded by learning domain (identification, description, exploration, integration, and application. The distribution of domains by case modality will be reported.
Preferences of students for each case modality [ Time Frame: 5 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Students will be surveyed regarding their preferences for video- vs. text-based case presentation modality using a Likert-scale
Preferences of tutors for each case modality [ Time Frame: 5 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Tutors will be surveyed regarding their preferences for video- vs. text-based case presentation modality using a Likert-scale

Enrollment:	28
Study Start Date:	February 2008
Study Completion Date:	February 2009
Primary Completion Date:	February 2009 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Arms	Assigned Interventions
Active Comparator: Video modality	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
Active Comparator: Text modality	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.

Arms

Assigned Interventions

Active Comparator: Video modality

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

Active Comparator: Text modality

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.

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.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years to 65 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

medical student participating in the endocrine and reproductive pathophysiology course at Harvard Medical School

Exclusion Criteria:

None

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01286025

Locations

United States, Massachusetts
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115

Sponsors and Collaborators

Harvard University Faculty of Medicine

Investigators

Principal Investigator:

Graham T McMahon, MD MMSc

Harvard Medical School

More Information

No publications provided

Responsible Party:	Graham T. McMahon MD MMSc, Harvard Medical School
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT01286025 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	M15700-101
Study First Received:	January 27, 2011
Last Updated:	January 27, 2011
Health Authority:	United States: Institutional Review Board

Keywords provided by Harvard University Faculty of Medicine:

medical education
problem-based learning
interactive tutorial

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 16, 2013