Teaching Color‐Deficient Medical and Dental Students in Histology: Developing Best Practices and Strategies for Student Success

Abstract

Introduction & Objective– Histology as a discipline requires the use of a variety of staining methods to highlight and visualize normal components of cells and tissues. For students with a color deficiency, they may be unable to perceive, or distinguish between, certain colours that are commonly used in histological preparations. Considering many cells are named based on their affinity for certain histological dyes (ex: eosinophils), this can make learning histology difficult for students who cannot identify cells or tissues based on their colour appearance. From an instructor perspective, teaching students with a color deficiency can be challenging without having an established plan, or strategies, to ensure that these students can fully participate and succeed in their coursework. The objective of this study is to outline several successful strategies and recommendations for histology instructors when teaching students with a color deficiency. These strategies are based on recent experiences in teaching students with a color deficiency in medical and dental histology courses.Materials and Methods– In the fall of 2021 at the University of Buffalo, several students in the Jacobs School of Medicine and the School of Dental Medicine required accommodations in their histology courses due to a recognized color deficiency. Both histology courses used a flipped‐classroom approach with pre‐recorded lectures. To accommodate these students, a greyscale strategy was used, in which, all color images were paired with an identical greyscale image in all computer‐based histology laboratories and examinations. Students had the option of viewing the pre‐recorded histology lectures in greyscale by adjusting their computer monitor settings. All color‐deficient students successfully completed their courses using the greyscale strategy.Results –The following are instructor recommendations for teaching students with color deficiency based on course experiences in the fall of 2021: 1) The instructor should address color deficiency in the histology course syllabus and course introduction to establish that a plan is available for students; 2) Although images were provided in both color and greyscale, instructors should provide further training for students to successfully interpret the cellular morphology in greyscale. For example, recognition of peripheral blood leukocytes in greyscale required analysis of both nuclear morphology (shape, texture) and the properties (size, shape, density) of their specific granules; 3) Instructors should teach the entire class using the paired color/greyscale images to create an inclusive learning environment. The greyscale images provided a different perspective of the cell and tissue morphology that was beneficial for all students; 4) The greyscale images used in all coursework should be scrutinized by the instructor as they may require adjustments in brightness and contrast.Conclusion –By incorporating greyscale images into histology coursework, all students can fully participate irrespective of the severity of color deficiency of individual students in the class. These recommendations may provide a useful framework in assisting histology teaching faculty in designing coursework for color‐deficient students.