Abstract
Anatomy and physiology teaching has undergone significant changes to keep up with advances in technology and to cater for a wide array of student specific learning approaches. This paper examines perceptions towards a variety of teaching instruments, techniques, and innovations used in the delivery and teaching of anatomy and physiology for health science students, and asks whether active learning through more progressive methods of teaching is beneficial for students across health science disciplines. In total, 138 health science students consisting of 32 biomedical science students, 52 exercise and sports science students, and 54 health and physical education students completed the retrospective study. Biomedical science students were least receptive to progressive teaching modalities, preferring anatomical dissections to laboratory workbooks ( p <0.05) and body painting ( p <0.05). In comparison, students from health and sport related degrees responded significantly better to anatomical models and laboratory workbooks than anatomical dissections ( p <0.001). While gender differences were subtle, males responded positively to online multiple-choice question resources (p < 0.05) in comparison to females. Following a multimodal delivery of anatomy and physiology, students from all cohorts reported feeling significantly more confident ( p < 0.005) when discussing all material in the course. The results obtained demonstrate differences amongst cohorts, which indicate that student perceptions to learning anatomy and physiology are dependent on individual course expectations. Moreover, these results support “hands on” practical teaching, and the use of a variety of teaching tools to foster learning and enjoyment of anatomy and physiology in health sciences.
Highlights
The teaching of anatomy at a university level is currently in a state of flux
The current study evaluated the perceptions of a multi-professional cohort of health science students regarding teaching methods employed in a first-year introductory anatomy and physiology unit at an Australian university
Female students favored body painting over the traditional anatomical dissections (p
Summary
The teaching of anatomy at a university level is currently in a state of flux. Traditional approaches that are instructive, and encourage a more student-passive method of learning, are in contention with more progressive means that foster active learning. Cadaveric dissections and prosections, which constitute traditional methods of teaching anatomy, have become increasingly difficult due to a lack of donated bodies, increasing concerns over safety, and significant expense (McLachlan, Bligh, Bradley, & Searle, 2004; McLachlan & Patten, 2006). Commercial models, computer simulations, clay modeling, body painting, and other living anatomy teaching methods are often supplementing (and at times, replacing) traditional dissections and didactic lectures S. Mitchell, McCrorie, & Sedgwick, 2004; Waters, Van Meter, Perrotti, Drogo, & Cyr, 2005)
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