Health sciences students’ viewpoint on innovative approaches in histology course

Abstract

Background/Aim: It is crucial to improve histology education quality and train competent individuals in the fields of health and medical sciences. Feedback received from students can provide guidance to achieve these goals. This study aims to reveal the opinions of Faculty of Health Sciences students about histology education and to identify their need for innovative approaches to improve this course. Methods: This study was conducted with 174 students who were enrolled in their first year of the general histology course at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Siirt University, during the 2021–2022 academic year. The students answered survey questions electronically at the end of the semester, and the students’ opinions about the general histology course were obtained. A content analysis technique was used to evaluate the collected data. Results: Half of the students thought that the histology course was difficult. More than half of the students (57.5%) stated that the length of the theoretical course was sufficient and that practical courses should be supported by various applications. Most of the students (63.8%) stated that the histology course was important for their profession and that it would be more efficient to teach this course by integrating it with clinical sciences. Most of the students (81%) reported that the histology course integrated with technological tools would contribute to their education. Nearly half of the students (49.4%) had a negative response to teaching this course via the distance education method. Conclusion: Histology education is considered by students to be a difficult course to learn. For students to overcome these difficulties, it can be helpful to provide both theoretical and practical courses at close intervals in a holistic manner. Additionally, integrating this course with clinical sciences can also increase student performance. It is believed that for student success, it is important to integrate educational models with traditional methods supported by technological educational materials and distance education systems.