Pedagogy in undergraduate anatomy course: An argument for case‐based learning

Abstract

A typical anatomy course consists of a didactic lecture, involving rote‐memorization, and is coupled with a laboratory component that provides students with opportunities to experience and confirm what they learned (Bandyopadhyay & Biswas, 2017). Additionally, this pedagogical approach typically utilizes textbooks, two‐dimensional anatomical models, and the student's course success often relies on an ability to memorize facts, rather than synthesize material. When transitioning to medical schools, students will be faced with applying their anatomical knowledge to clinical scenarios, which requires critical thinking and advanced questioning skills that go beyond the rote‐memorization experience they had as an undergraduate (Silen, Wirell, Kvist, Nylander, & Smedby, 2009). One potentially effective way to improve the transition from undergraduate education transition into medical schools, and to support students in making connections between structure, function, and clinical reasoning is by incorporating case‐based learning(CBL) in undergraduate level A&P courses. CBL is a form of inquiry‐based learning used in various health‐care related fields such as medicine and dentistry, and it involves teaching and applying theoretical knowledge to real‐world clinical cases. Because it allows the student to apply knowledge, it could provide the training and knowledge necessary for medical students to transition between lecture and clinical practices. For example, Jamkar, Burdick, Morahan, Yemul, Sarmukadum and Singh (2007), focused on implementing CBL to train undergraduate medical students in surgery. Students were given patient histories and formulated ideas to treat and diagnose the patient. Each student used knowledge they learned from textbooks and in‐class lectures, and students developed a concept map illustrating how they determined patient diseases and diagnoses. Results indicated students improved clinical‐reasoning skills, exhibited increased confidence in treating patients, and were more motivated to learn. Furthermore, the use of CBL in medical schools is shown to improve students content knowledge, teamwork, analytical reasoning, patient interactions, and foster the ability to adapt to a patient's needs. To address A&P preparedness and to ensure that students are successful in their transition to medical school, it is essential that we as professional instructors improve how undergraduate students are learning in undergraduate A&P. In my poster presentation, I will describe the research needed to advance our understanding of CBL and its implications for the design of effective A&P learning environments.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.