Meet Maria

In the Learning Diagnosis series of videos, on-screen instructional graphics are used to identify critical moments within the patient’s speech or behaviors where examples of diagnostic criteria may have been indicated.  To allow for a more concise, clear indication and a more efficient communication of the details, these graphics contain abbreviated, paraphrased passages from the DSM-5-TR criteria for the diagnosed disorder. From a learning perspective, the appearance of the on-screen text engages the learner’s as the words are decoded into meaning. Connecting the words on screen with the images, sounds, and action being portrayed provides a complex, multi-sensory learning moment that heightens the student’s experience as a number of different areas of the mind are stimulated.  Strong connections are forged between the content and the information, and the learner is further trained on what to look for and how to recognize criteria and symptoms moving forward. Genius Academy Cases have been precisely crafted to fulfill the diagnostic criteria for the intended “Correct Diagnosis.” However, students, course instructors, and clinicians may at times disagree with the diagnosis. This is similar to diagnostic disagreements between clinicians in real life situations and results because assigning a diagnosis requires clinical judgment to determine if the diagnostic criteria have been met. And that judgment may vary among clinicians.  In real life, there would be the ability to ask further questions of the client, or possibly of others in the client’s life, in order to clarify details. Disagreement over the most accurate diagnoses to assign make wonderful teaching moments. Why do students see it differently? How do they justify their diagnosis over their colleague’s? What additional information would they like to confirm the diagnosis? Situations like these can lead to robust class discussions exploring the deeper nuances of the diagnosis.This video is intended for use as a powerful supplementary learning activity and can be integrated seamlessly into any number of social work, therapy, psychology, and diagnostic curricula.  Instructors may see value in structuring synchronous class discussions around the content, allowing each learner to reflect on what they observed and what it meant to them or they may find better use in creating a course project, knowledge-check activity, or differential diagnosis that requires students to identify and report on symptoms and other diagnostic criteria present in the video.  The content is authentic and valid to the diagnosis being portrayed with a focus on communicating the symptoms and details in a way that requires student-engagement and thought.  
Here are a few possibilities to use this in your classroom: