Frankfurt ‘whisper exam’: a case-based collaborative summative examination using key-feature questions completed in pairs¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 design), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The whisper exam is a summative assessment in which third-year medical students complete “four clinical case vignettes comprising a total of 20 key-feature questions” in pairs, discussing at low voice and agreeing on a joint final response for each item. It is administered digitally on tablets using the tExam application with EX3 scoring software, with 60 minutes examination time and a cut score of 12 of 20 correct answers. The format was designed to assess clinical reasoning and transfer of knowledge from the preceding laboratory course in hygiene, microbiology and virology.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Participation in pairs, with seatmates from the preceding laboratory course as partners
A preceding case-based laboratory course covering the assessed learning objectives
Digital examination infrastructure (tExam application and EX3 scoring software)

Constraints¶

Passing or failing is assessed at the team level, which the authors note raises legal questions for multicenter adoption
Examination time limited to 60 minutes according to 3 minutes per KFQ

Target Learners¶

Third-year undergraduate medical students

Learning Goals¶

Clinical decision-making in hygiene, microbiology and virology
Collaborative competencies and consensus-based decision-making

Claims¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

Vorbeck L, Ruesseler M, Steinmetzer J, Kohmer N, Kempf VAJ, Brandt C. (2026). The Frankfurt ‘whisper exam’ - a case-based collaborative summative examination to assess clinical decision-making skills in hygiene, microbiology and virology– feasibility and evaluation. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10018-y

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`frankfurt-whisper-exam-element`
`title`	`Frankfurt ‘whisper exam’: a case-based collaborative summative examination using key-feature questions completed in pairs`
`description`	`The whisper exam is a summative assessment in which third-year medical students complete “four clinical case vignettes comprising a total of 20 key-feature questions” in pairs, discussing at low voice and agreeing on...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-11-04`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `vorbeck-l-2026`

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