Teaching in response to case presentations is an essential feature of clinical teaching in medicine . Yet , this form of case-based teaching is often done poorly . Using qualitative methods of interviews , observations , and recordings of teaching rounds , the author describes three different yet exemplary pedagogical strategies for organizing teaching rounds in general internal medicine . These include : ( 1 ) case-bedside teaching that involves case discussion in a conference room followed by demonstrations at the bedside , ( 2 ) case-lecture teaching that blends quick reviews of cases with more formal presentations on relevant topics , and ( 3 ) case-iterative teaching that involves discovery-learning using complex cases . From these three case studies , five general principles of experiential learning in clinical settings are derived : anchoring instruction in cases , actively involving learners , modeling professional thinking and action , providing direction and feedback , and creating a collaborative learning environment . These three approaches to teaching rounds overcome common problems associated with learning in clinical settings .