Evaluating learning resource selection to support gross anatomy education
Date
2023
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Abstract
Anatomy educators are tasked with developing, maintaining, and revising comprehensive curricula that strengthen the foundation of a growing body of scientific knowledge necessary to be successful medical professionals. This work sought to evaluate the impact of instructional timing, spatial ability, self-efficacy, and resource preference in the animal anatomy classroom for undergraduate and graduate students at Colorado State University. It identified factors relevant to optimizing student performance on animal gross anatomy examinations. The first chapter provides a background on anatomy learning resources in the context of self-efficacy and spatial ability research. Chapter two found that following a transition to remote instruction, students value resources that assist with navigating their learning ecology and assist with content mastery. Chapter three was a five-year retrospective study that identified a correlation between prior examination experience and dissection examination scores. Chapter four compared two measures of visuospatial ability with atlas- and specimen-based animal anatomy assessments following experimental single-resource and real-world multi-resource instruction. Chapter five was a mixed-methods analysis that developed an experimental framework used to describe the relationship between learner self-efficacy and animal gross anatomy assessment scores. Using this framework, increased time attending in-person didactic lectures and teaching assistants mediated open laboratories was found to be beneficial for low self-efficacy students while independent exploration of open-laboratory was beneficial for high self-efficacy students. An experimental study reported in chapter five failed to find a relationship between resource preference and performance on experimental anatomy assessments. When taken together, the research provides suggestions for anatomy educators seeking to use the selective distribution of learning resources to improve the instruction of animal anatomy students.
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Embargo expires: 12/29/2024.
Subject
gross anatomy
anatomy education
virtual reality