Optional online quizzes increase student success on exams in an undergraduate human anatomy course

Abstract

BackgroundRepeated testing of material through online quizzing has been shown to improve student test scores in medical school human anatomy courses, however this has not been examined in undergraduate students. Since many undergraduate human anatomy programs do not have access to cadaveric material for learning/assessment, virtual dissection and related testing could be a successful alternative.ObjectiveThe present study examined student success on a midterm and final exam following two optional online quizzes covering similar material as the exams in an upper level undergraduate regional human anatomy course. Quiz questions were developed from virtual dissection labs which all students completed. We hypothesized that students who chose to complete the optional quizzes would be more successful on the exams, regardless of their level of success on the quizzes.Methods113 kinesiology and physical therapy students, in their third or fourth year of undergraduate study, were enrolled in a Regional Human Anatomy course over the fall of 2014 or winter of 2015. All students wrote a midterm and final exam, and had the option to also complete two online quizzes, each worth 10% of the final grade and incorporating bell‐ringer style, timed, questions relating to a virtual dissection image. If students chose not to complete Quiz 1, that 10% would be applied to the midterm, and if they chose not to complete Quiz 2, that 10% would be applied to the final exam. The material covered in the quizzes was the same as that on the corresponding exams. Students were free to choose to do both quizzes, one quiz, or none.Results56 students chose to complete at least one quiz, while 57 did not complete any quizzes. Students who completed Quiz 1 were more successful on the midterm (77.1 ± 13.4 compared to 72.4 ± 14.9%, p < 0.05) and students who completed Quiz 2 were more successful on the final exam (71.2 ± 16.9 compared to 60.9 ± 15.9%, p < 0.05, compared to those students who did not complete the respective quizzes.ConclusionsCompletion of optional online quizzes improves student success on exams covering similar material in an undergraduate human anatomy course. For undergraduate courses with or without a laboratory component, this may be a useful method to improve student retention and test scores.Support or Funding InformationSupported by a Dean's Catalyst e‐Learning Grant, Faculty of Health, York University