Computer assisted interactive learning in medical education: flipped classrooms of clinical neurology for medicine students

In the interactive learning process called “flipped classroom” students are directly involved through personal choices among the learning material. Students learn best when working together actively developing the lesson subject. We set Clinical Neurology university lessons on line, interactive, and with the “flipped classroom” modality. Over 400 videos of the main pathologies were filmed in our university hospital. Diagnostic criteria, exams needed for the diagnosis, therapeutic options were also explained in short movies. All this material was uploaded on the Moodle platform and lessons spliced in preparatory exercises and flipped lesson. Three-to-five people student groups using wide screen PCs actively participate to the lesson. The teacher leads the classroom circulating around students’ groups engaging them in discussions. Lesson subjects are presented either as quiz series related to symptoms, laboratory and instrumental exams, and treatments or clinical case videos with students asked to propose a diagnosis. Students are also invited to choose among progressive multiple choices leading to clinical diagnoses or treatment strategies. When the group gives an answer, a multi-medial link shows a related clinical case showing how the answer is correct or wrong. The lesson becomes therefore a real-world interactive experience of clinical practice with videos of patients describing their medical histories or of physicians examining patients.