Correlation of Web usage and exam performance in a human anatomy and development course

The Effect of Visualization Techniques on Students of Occupational Therapy during the First Visit to the Dissection Room

Background: Part of the basic teaching of human anatomy are prosection sessions with a human corpse, which may generate stress or anxiety among students. The objective of this work was to study how, through the visualization technique (a coping technique), these levels could be reduced before starting prosection classes. Methods: A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted involving first-year students who had never participated in screening sessions. Prior to the visit, occupational therapy students underwent a viewing session (visualization technique). On the day of the visit, before and after the screening session, an anonymous questionnaire was distributed to find out about aspects of the students’ experiences, such as their feelings and perceptions. The State−Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to assess anxiety. Results: The baseline levels of anxiety measured remained stable (from 18.5 to 18.2 points), with no differences being found (p > 0.05). The levels of emotional anxiety measured fell from 15.2 to 12.6 points (p < 0.05). Before starting the class, there were six students (17.1%) with anxiety criteria, and this figure was doubled at the end of the session (33.3%) (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Sessions in a dissection room can cause stressful experiences and change the emotional balances of some students. The results obtained and published here showed no significant differences after the visualization technique. We found that the students believed that the prosection sessions were very useful for teaching anatomy.

Evaluation of Anatomy Course Teaching and Learning Outcomes for Iraqi Pharmacy Students: Internet-based Learning versus Blended Learning During the Pandemic

BACKGROUND: Academic courses of human anatomy need to be reviewed periodically by students to ensure better learning outcomes, especially when the teaching process became internet-dependent during the pandemic. AIM: Our study aims to explore pharmacy students’ opinions concerning the theoretical and practical elements of the anatomy course taught in the College of Pharmacy at Al-Rafidain University. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ethical committee of the College of Pharmacy at Al-Rafidain University approved the study. We prepared a questionnaire (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.735) to evaluate the positive and negative aspects of the teaching process. The questionnaire was presented as an online survey to pharmacy students (n = 305) who finished their anatomy course in two learning modalities, Internet-based learning (n1 = 105, 34.43%) and blended learning (BL) (n2 = 200, 65.57%). RESULTS: Participants of both groups were satisfied with the syllabus, using internet-based materials, and problem-based learning concerning the theoretical aspect of the course. Concerning practical knowledge, both groups preferred using cadavers instead of dummies, and they verified the beneficial effect of online educational materials and computer-based applications. Pharmacy students demanded more than one anatomy course, while students from the BL group considered the anatomy course duration insufficient. Concerning the practical knowledge, students’ marks were superior for students using BL, and the opposite was the case with theoretical knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: BL is favored by Iraqi undergraduate pharmacy students; perhaps, it is attributed to the lively interaction between students and the teaching staff. We conclude that internet resources can be supportive of the classical teaching of anatomy.

Podcasts as a teaching tool in orthopaedic surgery : Is it beneficial or more an exemption card from attending lectures?

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the introduction of online podcasts as part of the main lecture series in orthopaedics on the number of lecture attendees, the examination results and the assessment of teaching by the students. Additionally, we evaluated the use of other media for examination preparation.

Methodology

At the beginning and end of the lecture series questionnaires were handed out to the students to evaluate their attitudes towards attending lectures, the use of video podcasts and examination preparation. In addition, the number of lecture attendees and podcast usage during the semester were counted and the statements of the students in the evaluation assessments of orthopaedic teaching were evaluated. The examination results were correlated in a statistical analysis with the learning materials provided by the students for examination preparation.

Results

At the end of the lecture series, 284 students stated that they used the lecture podcast about twice as often as attending lectures; however, for the majority of the students the provision of a video podcast was no reason not to attend the lecture. For example, 37.2% stated that they never and 26.8% stated that they rarely had not attended the lecture by providing the podcasts. Of the students 91–95% considered the availability of lecture podcasts to be a rather meaningful or very meaningful supplement to the lecture visit. Students increasingly used digital media to prepare for examinations instead of using traditional analogue methods. None of the learning methods or materials examined showed a statistically significant advantage in examination results.

Conclusion

Students in the age of digitalization use a variety of learning materials and are no longer bound to classical analog teaching methods. The use of online podcasts had no negative impact on examination performance. Most students perceived lecture podcasts as a useful supplement to lecture attendance. The students praised the expansion of the teaching curriculum to include additional digital offers with positive comments in the evaluations, but without achieving an improvement in these student evaluations.

How comprehensive are research studies investigating the efficacy of technology-enhanced learning resources in anatomy education? A systematic review

Anatomy education is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies into its curricula. However, despite this rise in technology numerous authors have commented on the shortfall in efficacy studies to assess the impact such technology-enhanced learning (TEL) resources have on learning. To assess the range of evaluation approaches to TEL across anatomy education, a systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE, the Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), Scopus, and Google Scholar, with a total of 3,345 articles retrieved. Following the PRISMA method for reporting items, 153 articles were identified and reviewed against a published framework-the technology-enhanced learning evaluation model (TELEM). The model allowed published reports to be categorized according to evaluations at the level of (1) learner satisfaction, (2) learning gain, (3) learner impact, and (4) institutional impact. The results of this systematic review reveal that most evaluation studies into TEL within anatomy curricula were based on learner satisfaction, followed by module or course learning outcomes. Randomized controlled studies assessing learning gain with a specific TEL resource were in a minority, with no studies reporting a comprehensive assessment on the overall impact of introducing a specific TEL resource (e.g., return on investment). This systematic review has provided clear evidence that anatomy education is engaged in evaluating the impact of TEL resources on student education, although it remains at a level that fails to provide comprehensive causative evidence. Anat Sci Educ 11: 303-319. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.

Teaching medical anatomy: what is the role of imaging today?

PURPOSE

Medical anatomy instruction has been an important issue of debate for many years and imaging anatomy has become an increasingly important component in the field, the role of which has not yet been clearly defined. The aim of the paper was to assess the current deployment of medical imaging in the teaching of anatomy by means of a review of the literature.

MATERIALS

A systematic search was performed using the electronic database PubMed, ScienceDirect and various publisher databases, with combinations of the relevant MeSH terms. A manual research was added.

RESULTS

In most academic curricula, imaging anatomy has been integrated as a part of anatomical education, taught using a very wide variety of strategies. Considerable variation in the time allocation, content and delivery of medical imaging in teaching human anatomy was identified. Given this considerable variation, an objective assessment remains quite difficult.

DISCUSSION

In most publications, students' perceptions regarding anatomical courses including imaging anatomy were investigated by means of questionnaires and, regardless of the method of teaching, it was globally concluded that imaging anatomy enhanced the quality and efficiency of instruction in human anatomy. More objective evaluation based on an increase in students' performance on course examinations or on specific tests performed before and after teaching sessions showed positive results in numerous cases, while mixed results were also indicated by other studies.

CONCLUSION

A relative standardization could be useful in improving the teaching of imaging anatomy, to facilitate its assessment and reinforce its effectiveness.

Faculty and student perceptions of effective study strategies and materials

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate faculty members' and students' perceptions of study strategies and materials.

METHODS

Focus groups were conducted with course directors and first- and second-year students to generate ideas relating to use of course materials, technology, class attendance, and study strategies for mastering class concepts.

RESULTS

Students and faculty members differed in their opinions about the utility of textbooks and supplemental resources. The main learning method recommended by students and faculty members was repeated review of course material. Students recommended viewing classroom lectures again online, if possible. Course directors reported believing that class attendance is important, but students based their opinions regarding the importance of attendance on their perceptions of lecture and handout quality. Results did not differ by campus or by student group (first-year vs. second-year students).

CONCLUSIONS

Students and faculty members have differing opinions on the process that could influence learning and course design. Faculty members should understand the strategies students are using to learn course material and consider additional or alternative course design and delivery techniques based on student feedback.

Self-guided clinical cases for medical students based on postmortem CT scans of cadavers

In the summer of 2009, we began full body computed tomography (CT) scanning of the pre-embalmed cadavers in the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) dissection lab. We theorized that implementing web-based, self-guided clinical cases based on postmortem CT (PMCT) scans would result in increased student appreciation for the clinical relevance of anatomy, increased knowledge of cross-sectional anatomy, and increased ability to identify common pathologies on CT scans. The PMCT scan of each cadaver was produced as a DICOM dataset, and then converted into a Quicktime movie file using Osirix software. Clinical cases were researched and written by the authors, and consist of at least one Quicktime movie of a PMCT scan surrounded by a novel navigation interface. To assess the value of these clinical cases we surveyed medical students at UMMS who are currently using the clinical cases in their coursework. Students felt the clinical cases increased the clinical relevance of anatomy (mean response 7.77/10), increased their confidence finding anatomical structures on CT (7.00/10), and increased their confidence recognizing common pathologies on CT (6.17/10). Students also felt these clinical cases helped them synthesize material from numerous courses into an overall picture of a given disease process (7.01/10). These results support the conclusion that our clinical cases help to show students why the anatomy they are learning is foundational to their other coursework. We would recommend the use of similar clinical cases to any medical school utilizing cadaver dissection as a primary teaching method in anatomy education.

An analysis of lecture video utilization in undergraduate medical education: associations with performance in the courses

BACKGROUND

Increasing numbers of medical schools are providing videos of lectures to their students. This study sought to analyze utilization of lecture videos by medical students in their basic science courses and to determine if student utilization was associated with performance on exams.

METHODS

Streaming videos of lectures (n = 149) to first year and second year medical students (n = 284) were made available through a password-protected server. Server logs were analyzed over a 10-week period for both classes. For each lecture, the logs recorded time and location from which students accessed the file. A survey was administered at the end of the courses to obtain additional information about student use of the videos.

RESULTS

There was a wide disparity in the level of use of lecture videos by medical students with the majority of students accessing the lecture videos sparingly (60% of the students viewed less than 10% of the available videos. The anonymous student survey revealed that students tended to view the videos by themselves from home during weekends and prior to exams. Students who accessed lecture videos more frequently had significantly (p < 0.002) lower exam scores.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that videos of lectures are used by relatively few medical students and that individual use of videos is associated with the degree to which students are having difficulty with the subject matter.

Effectiveness of human anatomy education for pharmacy students via the Internet

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the overall effectiveness of a human anatomy course taught to distance-based and campus-based pharmacy students.

DESIGN

A retrospective analysis of students' grades and course evaluations from 2003 through 2006 was conducted.

ASSESSMENT

No significant differences in student performance by pathway were found for the 2003-2005 academic years (p > 0.05). However, distance-based students' percentage and letter grades were significantly higher in 2006 (p = 0.013 and p = 0.004 respectively). Comparison of course and instructor evaluations showed that students in the distance course held similar or more positive perceptions of the course than their campus peers.

CONCLUSIONS

Similar performance by campus and distance students enrolled in a human anatomy suggests that a distance-based course can be used successfully to teach human anatomy to pharmacy students.

IT-based activity in physiology education: an experience from a developing country

Information technology (IT)-based components are included as active learning activities in medical curricula that have been shown to be more effective than most passive learning activities. In developing countries, these activities are not popular compared with developed countries. In this study, an IT-based assignment was carried out in physiology for undergraduates in Sri Lanka. We assessed certain basic IT capabilities before the assignment and found that the capability of using MS Word, e-mail, and the internet was limited to 68.3%, 62.0%, and 49.2% of students, respectively, with 40.8% of students having some other IT capabilities. We found a considerable variation in IT capabilities among the students, which depended on IT learning at schools and the geographical locations where students came from. The main source of IT knowledge for students was an introductory IT course given in the medical school with the second source being private IT learning centers. Response to the IT-based assignment was very poor. The reasons for poor participation included a lack of time due to parallel subjects, poor IT knowledge, and poor IT resource availability. However, students were willing to have optional IT-based components and were aware that IT knowledge is important for medical students as well as doctors. This study shows the importance of improving IT knowledge in students and the need of improving IT resources in medical schools. With these improvements, physiology education can be enriched with more interactive IT-based learning activities, which help students to acquire knowledge more efficiently and effectively in developing countries like Sri Lanka.

Do we need dissection in an integrated problem-based learning medical course? Perceptions of first- and second-year students

BACKGROUND

The introduction of a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum at the School of Medicine of the University of Melbourne has necessitated a reduction in the number of lectures and limited the use of dissection in teaching anatomy. In the new curriculum, students learn the anatomy of different body systems using PBL tutorials, practical classes, pre-dissected specimens, computer-aided learning multimedia and a few dissection classes. The aims of this study are: (1) to assess the views of first- and second-year medical students on the importance of dissection in learning about the anatomy, (2) to assess if students' views have been affected by demographic variables such as gender, academic background and being a local or an international student, and (3) to assess which educational tools helped them most in learning the anatomy and whether dissection sessions have helped them in better understanding anatomy.

METHODS

First- and second-year students enrolled in the medical course participated in this study. Students were asked to fill out a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. Data was analysed using Mann-Whitney's U test, Wilcoxon's signed-ranks or the calculation of the Chi-square value.

RESULTS

The response rates were 89% for both first- and second-year students. Compared to second-year students, first-year students perceived dissection to be important for deep understanding of anatomy (P < 0.001), making learning interesting (P < 0.001) and introducing them to emergency procedures (P < 0.001). Further, they preferred dissection over any other approach (P < 0.001). First-year students ranked dissection (44%), textbooks (23%), computer-aided learning (CAL), multimedia (10%), self-directed learning (6%) and lectures (5%) as the most valuable resources for learning anatomy, whereas second-year students found textbooks (38%), dissection (18%), pre-dissected specimens (11%), self-directed learning (9%), lectures (7%) and CAL programs (7%) as most useful. Neither of the groups showed a significant preference for pre-dissected specimens, CAL multimedia or lectures over dissection.

CONCLUSIONS

Both first- and second-year students, regardless of their gender, academic background, or citizenship felt that the time devoted to dissection classes were not adequate. Students agreed that dissection deepened their understanding of anatomical structures, provided them with a three-dimensional perspective of structures and helped them recall what they learnt. Although their perception about the importance of dissection changed as they progressed in the course, good anatomy textbooks were perceived as an excellent resource for learning anatomy. Interestingly, innovations used in teaching anatomy, such as interactive multimedia resources, have not replaced students' perceptions about the importance of dissection.

Effectiveness of using blended learning strategies for teaching and learning human anatomy

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to implement innovative teaching methods--blended learning strategies--that include the use of new information technologies in the teaching of human anatomy and to analyse both the impact of these strategies on academic performance, and the degree of user satisfaction.

METHODS

The study was carried out among students in Year 1 of the biology degree curriculum (human biology profile) at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona. Two groups of students were tested on knowledge of the anatomy of the locomotor system and results compared between groups. Blended learning strategies were employed in 1 group (BL group, n = 69); the other (TT group; n = 65) received traditional teaching aided by complementary material that could be accessed on the Internet. Both groups were evaluated using the same types of examination.

RESULTS

The average marks presented statistically significant differences (BL 6.3 versus TT 5.0; P < 0.0001). The percentage pass rate for the subject in the first call was higher in the BL group (87.9% versus 71.4%; P = 0.02), reflecting a lower incidence of students who failed to sit the examination (BL 4.3% versus TT 13.8%; P = 0.05). There were no differences regarding overall satisfaction with the teaching received.

CONCLUSIONS

Blended learning was more effective than traditional teaching for teaching human anatomy.

Design principles for developing an efficient clinical anatomy course

The exponential growth of medical knowledge presents a challenge for the medical school curriculum. Because anatomy is traditionally a long course, it is an attractive target to reduce course hours, yet designing courses that produce students with less understanding of human anatomy is not a viable option. Faced with the challenge of teaching more anatomy with less time, we set out to understand how students employ instructional media to learn anatomy inside and outside of the classroom. We developed a series of pilot programs to explore how students learn anatomy and, in particular, how they combine instructional technology with more traditional classroom and laboratory-based learning. We then integrated what we learned with principles of effective instruction to design a course that makes the most efficient use of students' in-class and out-of-class learning. Overall, we concluded that our new anatomy course needed to focus on transforming how medical students think, reason, and learn. We are currently testing the hypothesis that this novel approach will enhance the ability of students to recall and expand their base of anatomical knowledge throughout their medical school training and beyond.

[The human body and the computer as pedagogic tools for anatomy: review of the literature]

Since the first dissections, the human body has been the main tool for the teaching of anatomy in medical courses. For the last 30 years, university anatomy laboratory dissection has been brought into question and the total hours of anatomy teaching have decreased. In parallel, new technologies have progressed and become more competitive and more attractive than dissection. The aim of this review of the literature was to evaluate the use of the human body as a pedagogic tool compared to today's computer tools. Twenty comparative studies were reviewed. Their analysis showed that the human body remains the main tool in anatomy teaching even if anatomic demonstration (prosection) can replace dissection, and that the computer tools were complementary but not a substitute to dissection.

Design and implementation of a web-based, database-driven histology atlas: Technology at work

At Vanderbilt University, the "Human Cell and Tissue Biology" course is a required lecture and laboratory course with 2 full-time instructors and 106 students. To address demands placed on faculty for individual attention, an interactive Web-based histology atlas was developed and implemented in January 2005. This atlas was specifically designed to complement the existing laboratory manual and to transform the manual into an interactive educational tool whereby students could view high-resolution images of histological specimens online. By utilizing a computer scripting language, interactive highlighting of histological structures was accomplished through the implementation of a simple mouse-rollover function. This computer-aided instruction software allows students to preview histological structures of interest prior to entering the laboratory, to have additional faculty-directed contact hours during laboratory, and to review material efficiently. The conversion of the originally developed static application into a database-driven tool streamlined the development and modification of the atlas while facilitating the creation of advanced features. Six weeks after launching this interactive atlas, Vanderbilt medical students logged 1,200 hr of use. Through the cooperative efforts of faculty and students, the interactive atlas evolved to meet the educational demands of medical students owing to the development and implementation of a database structure. The functionality and educational value of the interactive atlas in facilitating self-learning was ultimately measured by positive student feedback and use.

A web-based system for teaching, assessment and examination of the undergraduate peri-operative medicine curriculum

Today's students are generally computer literate and have high expectations of university information technology resources. Most United Kingdom medical schools now provide networked computers for learning, research, communication and accessing the worldwide web. We have exploited these advances to augment and improve the teaching of peri-operative medicine and anaesthesia to medical students in our university, who are taught in several hospitals over a wide geographical area. Course material such as departmental induction information, lecture notes and assessment sheets can be accessed online, contributing to the smooth running of the course. Streamed videos and simulations allow students to familiarise themselves with common practical procedures in advance. Development of a web-based end of course assessment has resulted in substantially less administration and bureaucracy for course organisers and proved to be a valuable research tool. Students' and teachers' opinions of the new course structure have been overwhelmingly positive.

Evaluation of computer-aided instruction in the medical gross anatomy curriculum

A two-year study was conducted to provide summative evaluations of web-based computer-aided instruction (CAI) specifically designed to supplement the laboratory dissections in the medical human anatomy course. Utilization of CAI was analyzed using server statistics, student surveys and network login tables. There was a significant increase in server requests for CAI over the period of the course in both years of the study. In general, student surveys corresponded with the login data for individual students, although several discrepancies showed limitations of the respective methodologies. When course examination scores were compared to the number of CAI logins for individual students, there were statistically significant direct correlations between exam grades and frequency of CAI use. Our findings illustrate the value of combining server statistics with user surveys for evaluations of CAI as an effective supplement for student learning in the anatomy curriculum.