Collaborative use of virtual patients after a lecture enhances learning with minimal investment of cognitive load

Background: The use of virtual patients (VPs), due to their high complexity and/or inappropriate sequencing with other instructional methods, might cause a high cognitive load, which hampers learning.Aim: To investigate the efficiency of instructional methods that involved three different applications of VPs combined with lectures.Method: From two consecutive batches, 171 out of 183 students have participated in lecture and VPs sessions. One...