A pilot study studying the efficiency of learning based on improved cases (CBL) in small group teaching

Participants

The study consisted of an experimental group (n = 10) of undergraduate medicine students, who participated in the apprenticeship pilot based on technology -based cases (Tel) which ran to the spring semester (January to May), and a CBL control group (n = 10) of undergraduate students in undergraduate medicine who received conventional CBL during the same period. Ethical approval was requested and provided by the Cardiff University School of Medicine (Somrec) research committee. All the protocols were approved, the pilot was led in accordance with the school guidelines and regulations, and consent was given by the participants. The two groups were twinned in relation to the key criteria which included: the school performance of year 1, the performance of progress tests of year 2, the number of students at the entrance of graduates in each group, the age and years of experience of the group's facilitator / tutor. Painting 1 Below contains more information on the Tel CBL group and the CBL group Control:

Device and procedure

The two groups of students were awarded identical teaching sessions for each study unit throughout the spring semester. More specifically, each group attended the same conferences, practical tutorials, clinical skills sessions, community clinical learning and small group teaching sessions. Each group was awarded an experienced CBL tutor, the two tutors being staff members who have been CBL tutors since the CBL -based study program were presented at the University of Cardiff School of Cardiff eleven years ago. The two tutors have training in clinical science research, are members of the undergraduate program team in medicine, and alongside tutorials in small groups, also offer conferences and study units throughout the preclinical phase of the program. The two tutors facilitated their respective groups independently and in accordance with the study protocol. The tutor assigned to the conventional CBL group joined the learning practices in small well-established group of the program (that is to say no difference in delivery, lesson and CBL structure plan). While the tutor Tel CBL has covered the identical material and adhered to the same CBL structure (for example, 3 sessions in small groups per case, with two scenarios for students to cross), the lesson plan and the delivery of the sessions differ by integrating the use of new and emerging technologies. This included access to an immersive learning suite of 5.5 × 5.5 m, 3D anatomy software, asynchronous online reading and virtual patients, a Genai simulated virtual patient platform and VR headsets equipped with immersive anatomy software. The two groups received the same time by session CBL, the conventional CBL group exploring the content of the cases during the group discussion, the use of white tables to summarize previous knowledge and reflect. The Tel CBL group has integrated the use of technological tools at its disposal to summarize previous knowledge, reflect and explore the content of cases in more detail.

The immersive learning suite consists of projectors and sensors that transform the walls surrounding the space into an immersive environment by which images and / or 360 ° videos can be projected on the walls. The sensors also allow students to interact with the contact projected on the walls via the “touch” function. The continuation was used to create immersive 3D anatomy sessions that have been introduced to improve student learning, with peer teaching and teamwork activities (for example, group quiz) included in the lesson plan. The continuation was also used to transform the space into a travel ambulance so that students can practice key clinical skills in an immersive environment during an emergency simulation.

The 3D anatomy software used in the immersive learning suite, as well as asynchronous online resources available for all two -year students, was Biodigital Human (ND)¹⁶ and complete anatomy (ND)¹⁷. The AI ​​platform based on the chatgpt driver containing virtual patient scenarios was provided by Simot (ND)¹⁸Who are a group of medical students developing simulations of virtual patients based on generative AI (GENA1) which allow medical students to practice skills in terms of history and communication during their free time. There were 12 Meta Quest 2 128 GB VR headsets available for 10 students such as CBL, each containing virtual medicine software (ND)¹⁹ This allowed students to explore human anatomy and physiology in a virtual and immersive learning environment. A snapshot of some of the immersive resources and installations used during this pilot is presented in Fig. 1.

A sample of tools, technologies and installations integrated into the Tel CBL driver. These included (A) Immersive virtual environments that could be explored on the individual devices of students (((B) a series of immersive physical learning which could accommodate the group of 10 students such as CBL, ((C) 3D anatomy software which was also accessible using VR headsets (D) and virtual virtual virtual virtual scenarios.

During the spring semester, students of the second year examined four study units that explored various fields of clinical and medicine. This included cardiology, neurology, orthopedics and gastrointestinal (superior). A mixture of teaching activities was delivered in each unit, which included three small group teaching sessions. The Tel CBL group had access to the aforementioned technological tools and platforms during each of these three small group sessions. The use of technology and platforms has been included as a means of improving learning during these sessions, instead of replacing any elements of the sessions specifically. Each small group session has been facilitated by an experienced tutor, with a tutor also experienced facilitating the small group sessions of the CBL group. During the third and last session during each unit, a quiz of 20 elements was administered to the two groups as a means of assessing the acquisition and retention of knowledge during the unit. The quizs (4 in total, each composed of 20 multiple choice articles) contained questions that aligned themselves on the educational activities to which the two groups of students have committed themselves (i.e. conferences, a practical tutorial, community and clinical learning), by emphasizing fundamental scientific questions (anatomy, physiology and histology, if necessary). Students also received an investigation which included elements on a Likert scale, as well as open questions in relation to the learning experience during the unit and confidence in their scientific knowledge and their clinical skills. More specifically, students were invited to assess their experience of using different technologies, tools and platforms, as well as to assess the extent to which they have improved their learning and confidence. Commitment with tools, platforms, devices and online resources has also been monitored by the group tutor.

Data analysis

The performance and commitment of the quiz were analyzed using a test of independent samples in IBM SPSS (version 27). The experience and the confidence of students, as reported by the group Tel CBL, were captured in the form of quantitative descriptive statistics, with responses to open elements explored using content analysis, which has been reported as an approach well suited to the analysis of qualitative health education data^2,,20.