Implementing a Dissection‐based Human Anatomy Laboratory Manual: An Assessment of Students' Use, Perceived Usefulness, and Resulting Laboratory Preparedness

Abstract

The University of Guelph provides year‐round dissection‐ and prosection‐based human anatomy courses to undergraduate students; the combined enrolment in laboratory‐based courses exceeds 1000 students per academic year. Given such large enrolment numbers, an ongoing challenge is to continue to provide a very high level of human anatomy education to students with current resources. Consequently, various educational tools are being developed to enhance the current human anatomy program. To specifically target the course and laboratory learning objectives, a dissection‐based human anatomy laboratory manual has been created and is under further development, with the goal of promoting student preparedness and self‐sufficiency in the laboratory. Detailed cadaveric, dissection‐based images with clear and simple dissection instructions are the fundamental qualities of the manual. This resource also incorporates active learning exercises including drawing, colouring, and labelling components. A pilot edition of the manual was released to students enrolled in the third‐year dissection‐ and prosection‐based courses in the fall semester of 2017 (HK*3401 and HK*3501). Data pertaining to the students' use and perceived usefulness of the manual, as well as their perceived preparedness for laboratory periods have been collected. Analysis of these data is ongoing, and will be used to gain insight for the future development of subsequent editions of the manual.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.