Students’ perception toward blended anatomy learning modalities in the COVID-19 era

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Human anatomy is a cornerstone of medical practice hence teaching modalities should be strengthened. Major challenges were faced in this COVID-19 era when the teaching aspect was considered. The use of eLearning and blended learning is an innovative delivery mode to enhance medical education efficiency in the pandemic era. This study aims at investigating the student perception and satisfaction with the blended learning modality at the University of Rwanda.METHODS: This was a cross sectional study that was conducted at the University of Rwanda. 115 students undertaking the anatomy module participated and were subjected to the validated online questionnaire using Microsoft form. The data were exported from Google Forms to Microsoft excel 2013 for cleaning and coding and analyzed with SPSS version 25; cleaned data were then exported to SPSS version 25. Descriptive analysis was done using mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentages. The University approval was obtained.RESULTS: Out of 134 students, 115 students (85.4%) were enrolled in the study. Learning outcomes were reported to be clear, the anatomy module was well organized, and timely delivered module teaching was reported, and findings were 43.1%, 83,6% and 78.5%, respectively. On practical sessions, students expressed high satisfaction at 87.6%, with cadaver-based learning interest at 91.2%. E-learning relevance was higher than three quarters (76.5%).CONCLUSION: We noted the effectiveness of online and in-person teaching modalities among medical students undertaking the anatomy module at the University of Rwanda. Improvement of e-learning modality and availing prerequisite equipment at the University of Rwanda is recommended.