American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology
http://www.aaaai.org/

Computerized Reformatting of the A&I Training
Program Directors' Problem-Based Learning Case Modules
 

Introduction

A fundamental tenet of problem-based learning is to know what a student knows and the process of developing knowledge. Knowing when a particular level of understanding is reached and what the implications of that understanding are is a central issue of education in general. The fact that nearly 30% of undergraduate freshman enroll in remedial education courses suggests that assumptions relating understanding with level of education are misleading and that new approaches should be explored which take advantage of the latest theories of learning and the rapid advances in technology. A current understanding of learning can be summarized by the following observations: 1) students learn by integrating new information with existing knowledge, 2) the most robust learning occurs during active student engagement, and 3) the more familiar the learning activity the more likely the learning will be accurate and persistent.

Over four years ago, the Training Program Director's Education and Core Curriculum subcommittee of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology developed a series of 18 problem-based learning cases in the area of allergy and clinical immunology designed for medical students. The intent of these case modules is to provide more contextual learning by presenting challenging cases to the student, and querying the student's thoughts on issues of patient management, differential diagnosis, etc. at certain points in the presentation. This format is useful for learning, but requires a fairly experienced clinician to be familiar with the case and lead the students through the exercise. The students are usually required to write their thoughts/answers on the exercise sheet. These must then be reviewed and another session must be arranged to give feedback to the students. It is strongly felt by TPD members that this time-consuming process has hindered the utility of the case modules. Although the content of the modules is excellent, due to the input of experts in the fields represented, little use has been made of these case exercises.