Approaches to Study and Preferred Learning Environments of First Year Medical Students in an Anatomy Course

Abstract

Given the changing nature of medical and anatomy education, students may have different expectations of how they will go about studying material than what they are used to doing in past academic environments. Identifying students' approach to study and the relationship to teaching preferences may reveal disconnects between these factors that may inhibit learning for students in medical school. The purpose of this project was to analyze first year medical students' approaches to studying and compare to various demographic information as well as the student's preferred teaching preferences. We gave students the Approaches to Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST), a survey designed to assess a students' approach to study and preference for course type and learning environment. Scores assess approach to study on three primary factors; deep, strategic, and surface approaches. Additional items measure students' preference for the teaching environment based on two factors, supporting understanding and transmitting information. The survey was administered to first year medical students at the University of Mississippi Medical center on the first day of the anatomy course. The survey asked for basic demographics including age, gender, ethnicity, previous education experience with degree obtained, GPA in the program they most recently obtained a degree from, first generation student status, and previous anatomy experience. The students used a 5‐point Likert scale to describe their agreement with items pertaining to approaches to studying broadly as they related to a student's academic experience. The second section of the survey focused specifically on the student's preferences for the learning environment. Surveys were de‐identified and scored according to the guidelines of the ASSIST. The scores were analyzed to determine if differences between the three studying approaches were significant and to determine if the categories of demographic information showed differences in regards to the approaches to studying. Data were also analyzed to determine correlations between study approach and teaching preference. One hundred and thirty‐two surveys were completed with a response rate of 89.8%. There was a statistically significant difference between the three studying approaches among the class as a whole (F(1.685, 219.001) = 535.303, p < .001) as well as significant differences in the approaches based on both GPA (F(6.523, 197.327) = 2.225, p = .038) and gender (F(6.523, 197.327) = 2.225, p = .038). There were no statistically significant differences in approaches regarding ethnicity or previous anatomy experience. The deep, strategic, and surface approaches positively correlated with the supporting understanding teaching preference, with r values of 0.47 (p < .001), 0.19 (p = .04), and 0.27 (p = .002). The results of this study show that there is a difference in approaches to studying based on a student's GPA in previous programs and based on their gender, showing that these factors play a large role in how they approach studying. Previous anatomy experience did not seem to impact the approach to studying of students. The strongest positive correlation of deep approach with supporting understanding teaching preference is consistent with previous literature. Future directions will include a post course survey to determine if study approach and teaching preferences changed, and comparing study approaches and teaching preferences to outcomes in the anatomy course.Support or Funding InformationThis study was not funded.