The influence of spatial ability on high and low order anatomy examination questions in a first year integrated medical curriculum (343.4)

Abstract

Students with high spatial visualization ability (Vz) achieve higher grades in anatomy than students with low Vz; however, the influence of Vz on different Bloom’s Taxonomy levels of exam questions has not been established. This study examines the effect of Vz on different Bloom’s Taxonomy levels of anatomy questions. It is hypothesized that students with high Vz will outperform students with low Vz on higher order questions. Participants completed the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) to establish Vz. The mean Vz was 11.5±4.7, which divided participants into high Vz (n=30; mean MRT=15.4±2.7) & low Vz (n=29; mean MRT=7.5±2.5) groups. Exam questions were categorized into 4 Bloom’s levels: knowledge, comprehension, application & analysis. Preliminary data indicate students with high Vz (Vz=90.67±6.91) outperform students with low Vz (Vz=84.55±12.86; p<0.05). Students with high Vz performed better on comprehension level questions (p<0.05) whereas, there was no difference when assessing other exam question levels. This suggests that while high Vz students perform better overall & on comprehension questions, there may not be significant differences on knowledge, application & analysis questions. However, this sample only included 5 knowledge, 8 application & 2 analysis questions indicating that the inclusion of future exam questions may be required to establish significance within the other question levels.