Perception of medical students on the use of Case-Based Collaborative Learning (CBCL) in the human physiology course

Introduction

Medical schools focus on a traditional curriculum in which the student is not the center of the process. This has led to the emergence of active methodologies such as Case-Based Collaborative Learning (CBCL).

Aim

The aim of this study was to clarify medical students' perceptions of the use of the CBCL active methodology in the Human Physiology course.

Material and methods

This was a qualitative study carried out with 20 medical students studying physiology at a medical school. The students carried out a preliminary study with the material provided by the teacher. In the classroom, they formed small groups and the teacher opened a clinical case on the topic of the lesson and the CBCL session began to discuss it. The whole process was mediated by the teacher. The content analysis proposed by Bardin was used to analyze the information.

Results

As a result, it was possible to understand that medical students perceive that active methodologies favor the integration of knowledge, that they are student-centered and that they are a positive experience. Compared to other methodologies, students report better performance and participation, and highlight the difficulty of concentrating when using traditional methodologies.

Conclusion

They also point out that the methodology allows for constructive debate, contributing to the development of teamwork and therefore to greater student learning, which are the advantages related to the CBCL's active methodology according to the students. As disadvantages, they highlighted the fear of overload and the lack of commitment of some students.