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Education, MedicalNCT01286025

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

A study testing video case modality and Text case modality in people with Education, Medical and Education, Medical, Undergraduate, run by Harvard University Faculty of Medicine at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

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

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 65 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
What is being tested?
video case modality and Text case modality
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
28 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Feb 2008to Feb 2009
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 65 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

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

Who cannot join

  • None

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Harvard Medical School

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02115

Other trials in United States

About this study

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

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

Read the 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.

Being tested
video case modality, Text case modality
Keywords
medical education, problem-based learning, interactive tutorial

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • video case modalityBehavioural

    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

  • Text case modalityBehavioural

    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.

Study groups in NCT01286025
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Video modalityActive comparatorNot described
Receives: Behavioral: video case modality
Text modalityActive comparatorNot described
Receives: Behavioral: Text case modality

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Overall ratio of deep to superficial thinking

    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.

    Measured: Four 90-minute tutorial sessions

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Distribution of learning activities

    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.

    Measured: Four 90-min tutorial sessions

  2. Preferences of students for each case modality

    Students will be surveyed regarding their preferences for video- vs. text-based case presentation modality using a Likert-scale

    Measured: 5 weeks

  3. Preferences of tutors for each case modality

    Tutors will be surveyed regarding their preferences for video- vs. text-based case presentation modality using a Likert-scale

    Measured: 5 weeks

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted31 Jan 2011 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 2008
  3. Primary completionFeb 2009
  4. Study completionFeb 2009

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
28 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01286025
Sponsor's protocol ID
M15700-101
Status last verified
Jan 2011
First submitted
27 Jan 2011
Last updated
31 Jan 2011
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing video case modality and Text case modality in people with Education, Medical and Education, Medical, Undergraduate, run by Harvard University Faculty of Medicine at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 Jan 2011. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Overall ratio of deep to superficial thinking (time frame: Four 90-minute tutorial sessions). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 Jan 2011.

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