The laboratory is an innovative teaching methodology that facilitates the personalization of the teaching/learning process: it is the place where students put into practice what they have learned at a theoretical level, moving from "knowing" to "knowing how to do". All disciplines can benefit from laboratory moments, as all classrooms can potentially become laboratories. Laboratory teaching allows students to be protagonists, physically and emotionally involved in the direct and rewarding relationship with their classmates and the teacher, overcoming the attitude of passivity and estrangement that is often found during frontal lessons.

This type of teaching takes place in an equipped environment and usually involves a small group of students; it is intended not only as a physical space specifically equipped for the purposes of a given activity, but also and above all as a situation in which students and teachers design, experiment, research and discover.

The laboratory is a space for: communication (with verbal and non-verbal languages), personalization (development of self-sufficiency, self-esteem, professional and emotional autonomy), exploration and socialization (cooperation through interactive moments).

The teacher/Tutor has a key role in organizing the "simulated training", as he/she will have to: 

• choose the most appropriate type of simulation and integrate it with other teaching methodologies and tools;
• guiding students by exploiting their strengths , while recognizing weaknesses;
• realize effective contexts from the point of view of relationship, places, tools and materials used for the development of training processes that should have as their final outcome the acquisition of technical, practical and relational skills; 
• have the student acquire skills aimed at autonomy and awareness in clinical reality.

The Degree Program makes use of the Faculty of Medicine's innovative Center for Advanced Training and Medical Simulation (FASiM).

The FASiM Advanced Training and Medical Simulation Center enables active, student-centered training methodologies. It is possible to recreate realistic clinical scenarios, deal with emergencies, and work in interdisciplinary and interprofessional groups.

Role playing consists of simulating in a protected environment the behaviors and attitudes generally adopted in real life. Students enact a stage performance of various scenarios assigned by the instructor, taking on roles as they think they would actually behave in everyday life; this technique is aimed at gaining a deep understanding of what the role requires. Role playing analyzes the behaviors of individuals in interpersonal relationships in precise operational situations to find out how people may react in such circumstances. The teacher is expected to respect students in their choices and reactions without judging.

PBL is a "process by which the student is able to learn through a case administered by the classroom tutor." The case defines a situation within which students interact and is a stimulus for learning.

In PBL the student is at the center of learning, discovering meaningful content, in an active, stimulating way.

BENEFITS OF PBL

• Innovative method: student-centeredness.
• Absence of teacher-focused teaching (the teacher is no longer the center of knowledge).
• Large groups (150 students) are divided into small groups to promote interaction and learning.
• Importance of student activity: students are the protagonists of the method, while the tutor plays his role, in the background, supervising and directing the group if necessary.
• Teamwork: within the small group (tutorial group), the student can express himself, socialize and communicate, without being judged negatively by the tutor and the group.
• The student learns to learn, that is, acquires method skills, problem-solving skills.
• The student does not study because he/she has to, but because he/she recognizes the importance of learning and is motivated to learn.
• Fosters the integration of theory and practice through the use of real-world situations.
• Promotes self-learning, self-assessment, and leadership skills.

THE TUTORIAL GROUP AND THE CLASSROOM

• GROUP: consisting of about 8-10 students, but also 10-12 students if necessary; 1 classroom tutor or facilitator or guide (method expert) or 1 teaching module holder (content expert).

• CLASSROOM: small, quiet, equipped with a blackboard with flip charts and markers (or chalk board), a table in the center, with chairs arranged around it.

THE METHODOLOGY OF 7/10 JUMPS OR STEPS

• Learning is developed through a logical path, which is accomplished by a succession of 7/10 steps approached with flexibility.
• The first 5 steps are addressed during an opening case meeting.
• Step No. 6 is represented by the self-directed study.
• The remaining steps are realized during a concluding meeting, approximately one week after the case opening.

Steps

1. CLARIFY THE CASE TEXT: Students must understand the contents of the text, it is necessary to explain terms and concepts of doubtful meaning.
2. DEFINE THE PROBLEM: The group must share the topic to be addressed and the type of task (explanation, discussion, study, development of a strategy and practical application of the strategy).
3. ANALYZE THE PROBLEM: Through "brainstorming" the student activates or reactivates knowledge previously acquired from other sources or from experience (cultural background) and explains to the group what he thinks about that topic. Students compare without refuting the ideas of others.
4. REORGANIZE THE PROBLEM AFTER THE DISCUSSION: The ideas that emerged during the "brainstorming" are classified and organized to avoid confusion.
5. FORMULATE THE STUDY OBJECTIVES. 
6. CARRY OUT THE INDIVIDUAL STUDY: The student searches, individually, for the information necessary to achieve the study objectives, guided by the bibliography chosen by the teacher: he studies on texts, searches for other bibliography, consults the dictionary, does research on the Internet, etc.
7. DISCUSS THE RESULTS: In this phase the students exchange the knowledge acquired during the self-managed study. The discussion aims to clarify the contents, relate them to the knowledge already acquired and consolidate the learning.
8. ASSESS THE COMPLETENESS OF THE ANALYSIS: If the topic has not been sufficiently explored, new study OBVs may emerge.
9. ASSESS TEAMWORK: The group assesses the group in relation to the method, the contents, the difficulties encountered.
10. PERFORM SELF-ASSESSMENT: The self-assessment must be a constructive criticism for everyone.