Integrating AI-assisted world café discussion into clinical reasoning training: an exploratory study in medical education

Description

The critical analysis and diagnostic decision-making skills are essential for developing competent physicians. This study aimed to investigate the educational effectiveness of an AI-assisted World Café model within the Clinical Comprehensive Reasoning and Ability Training course. A single-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was employed. Participants comprised 55 third-year clinical medicine students at Kunming Medical University. The instructional design integrated the World Café discussion method, Case-Based Learning, and AI-assisted tools. Students received explicit training in standardized prompt engineering to facilitate structured and critically reflective interactions with AI. Multiple source data were collected using perception questionnaires, clinical knowledge tests, and a double scoring protocol involving both AI analysis and blinded human instructor evaluation. Following the course intervention, students’ acceptance of AI-assisted learning increased. In the evaluation of case discussion records and PowerPoint slides, AI-generated scores exhibited consistency with human instructor scores across multiple assessment dimensions. Although improvements in clinical knowledge test scores and perceptions of AI output quality did not reach statistical significance, the observed positive trends suggest potential for longer‑term educational gains that merit investigation in future studies. These findings suggest that the AI-assisted World Café model is feasible and effective in fostering students’ acceptance of AI technologies and supporting formative assessment in clinical reasoning training. The model offers a practical framework for integrating AI into medical education pedagogies, with particular value in enhancing collaborative learning processes and preparing students for informed human-AI collaboration in future clinical practice.

Institutions

• Kunming Medical University

  Yunnan, Kunming

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