79 Medical student engagement in small-group active learning stimulated recall enhances (one-on-one) interviews with video recordings of behavior to stimulate participants’ recall and reflection on critical moments (38,39). The video recording adds depth to the interviews by allowing participants to ‘relive’ events (40). Research team and reflexivity The authors were all educational researchers, most working within the medical curriculum of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The interviews were conducted by experienced faculty developers (JG and AC) and colleagues from the Research in Education team. Students and interviewers did not know each other before the interview. Students were informed that neither their tutors nor anyone else from the medical program would receive any information about their participation in the interviews. MMV was the coordinator of the educational theme ‘Professional Behavior’ at the time of the interviews, and as such could be known by students. She, therefore, did not participate in the interviews, but only read the anonymized transcripts. All authors were convinced of the value of student engagement in the medical curriculum. For this study, we adopted a social constructivist epistemological stance. We sought to understand the meaning that participants gave to their (learning) experiences, and used those experiences to gain insight into student engagement. We took an active role in making sense of the data in the light of our research aims. Participants and setting We invited ‘study groups’, not single students, to participate in this study, as we were interested in student engagement in small-group learning activities. By interviewing students from one group, we were able to explore how differences between students’ perceptions in the same environment influenced their engagement. Study groups in the Bachelor phase of the Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam consist of maximum twelve students who meet twice per week for two hours, and employ a case-based collaborative learning approach. Students stay in the same study group, guided by the same tutor, for the duration of a semester. During the first meeting of the week, students brainstorm about patient cases and associated assignments. After the meeting, they finish the assignments in subgroups and prepare to present their findings at the second meeting of the week. The students assume the different roles of chair, feedback provider, presenter, and note-keeper in rotation. Tutors observe the process and students’ individual contributions and act only if needed. Tutors also evaluate the professional behavior of their students. We decided to recruit second-year study groups, as they have experience with the design and expectations of study groups, can compare across multiple study groups of which they were a member, and can reflect on the approaches of multiple tutors. Procedure We approached study groups through their tutors. Students could object or agree to the video recording, and students could object or agree to the interview. We only included 4
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