360VR PBL: A new format of digital cases in clinical medicine

In this paper, we present and discuss an explorative study on the use of a social 360° virtual reality (360VR) for supporting case-based Problem Based Learning (case-PBL) in clinical medical education. In the context of case-PBL, we argue that our social 360VR learning space extends the design and application of cases in medical education by including elements from project-PBL. Three groups tested the learning design as a part of the clinical exercises in their 5. Semester bachelor course. After the social 360VR activity, the students performed a physical examination of the collateral and cruciate ligaments of the knee like the one in the training material. Our preliminary findings indicate that the students immersed in social 360VR collaboratively establish a mutual understanding of how to perform the examination through identifying problems related to the examination and by taking responsibility for their own and the other group members learning.