Theatrical experience as an instrument for integrated and active learning

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Active methodologies (AM) surpass traditional passive teaching in many aspects in the consolidation of learning. Theater is an important tool in this AM. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate how the theatrical experience can be used as an AM in order to promote integrated and active learning among medical students, especially in the context of mental disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the medical course of the Extreme South of Bahia, college, centered on AM with a focus on problem-based learning (PBL), a theatrical performance was held at the end of the third-semester mental disorders propaedeutics course. The presentation included stagings of common mental disorders in medical practice: bulimia nervosa, anxiety disorders such as panic with agoraphobia, bipolar type 1 depression in the manic phase, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The students participated in the elaboration of scripts, sets, costumes, lighting, and sound design with repeated rehearsals. RESULTS: The experience was positive in all aspects, especially in terms of learning achievement. After each presentation block, there was a brief reading about the clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria, and differential diagnoses, highlighting subtleties for the practice of a general practitioner, such as the differentiation between unipolar and bipolar depression. The audience, composed of students from other semesters, professors, and coordinators, informally evaluated the knowledge retention, which proved to be excellent. CONCLUSION: Theater is an essential experience for integration and stress reduction among undergraduate students, in addition to being a powerful learning tool for verbal and nonverbal expression.