Anatomy Students Research Articles

An initial preparation for human cadaveric dissection ameliorates the associated mental distress in students.

It is universally recognized that cadaveric dissection is an essential part of anatomy training. However, it has been reported to induce mental distress in some students and impair their intrinsic motivation (IM) to study. One of the postulated reasons for this behavior is the lack of adequate information and preparation of students for cadaveric dissection. Therefore, it is hypothesized that providing relevant information prior to cadaveric dissection will ameliorate the mental distress, enhance the IM of students, and improve their academic performance. A cohort of occupational therapy students enrolled in an anatomy course were psychologically prepared for cadaveric dissection. Students were provided with a curated list of YouTube videos and peer-reviewed journal articles related to cadaveric dissection prior to the commencement of the anatomy course. All students were also required to attend an oral presentation immediately before commencing dissection. The control group included students who had not been provided with any resources in preparation for cadaveric dissection. Compared to the control group, students who had been prepared demonstrated better quality of cadaveric dissection, improved academic performance, reported less mental distress and greater IM. Moreover, students reported the oral presentation to be most relevant and journal articles to be least useful in their preparation. Therefore, this is an effective approach in the amelioration of mental distress and improvement of performance in anatomy students. Consequently, this study represents a paradigm shift in the pedagogy of anatomy, and could represent a vital element in the evolution of a revitalized anatomy curriculum.

Undergraduate Student Course Perceptions in Response to Pedagogically Different Approaches in Introductory Anatomy and Physiology

Our institution underwent a curricular revision to change the course approach for introductory anatomy and physiology courses from separate, discipline-specific human anatomy and human physiology courses to an integrated A&P I and A&P II course approach. Through a mixed-methods exploratory study, this research sought to determine undergraduate student perceptions of anatomy through this curricular revision. Data was collected through word associations, open-ended surveys, and course evaluation data. Our results indicate that undergraduate student perceptions of anatomy changed between the first course and the second course in the sequence, rather than between course approaches. Students in both course approaches reported similar interests, confusions, and difficulties related to anatomy education, and an awareness of the explicit and implicit curriculum was evident in student responses. However, some specific evaluation prompts exhibited a significant difference between course approaches. Results from this perception study can guide practitioners to consider the curricular context and unique challenges of anatomy and physiology students in meeting the expectations of the health care field.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ANATOMY STUDY AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS OWN BODY DONATION IN MEDICINE STUDENTS (2020-2021)

The COVID-19 pandemic affected all activities. In the university environment, the areas where practical activity is essential were very difficult to compensate for the training deficit. Within the basic subjects of Health Sciences, Anatomy students suffered from the impossibility of accessing cadaveric material, but also many other resources. The objective of this study was to assess the opinion of the students regarding the changes imposed by the pandemic and their attitude towards donating their own bodies. Material and Method: A voluntary survey was carried out to the students who attended in 2020 and 2021, with different levels of restrictions and information regarding donation. The questions referred to demographic data, importance that is assigned to the bodies for the learning of Anatomy, if they were student assistants in that period, if the pandemic affected their training, if they know that the body can be donated and that the Faculty has a program, if they would like to obtain more information, collaborate and / or donate their own body. The results showed great similarity, except that Group 2 had less knowledge of the possibility of donating and the existence of a program, without affecting the will to donate. Also the reasons for not donating were a bit more ambiguous in that group. In addition, some results were compared with similar groups from 2018, showing that the study groups valued cadaveric material less but had a more positive attitude towards donation.

Embracing Ambiguity: The intersection of biology, music, and art in secondary school teaching for student creativity

In these conversational field notes, two teachers reveal their experiences with creativity in contexts where students are encouraged to dwell in spaces of ambiguity and vulnerability in learning. Using anatomy to inform music pedagogy empowers students to work through metaphor-rich instruction in order to develop a grounded approach to artistic interpretation, while using fine art in the science classroom allows students of anatomy to explore the artistic possibilities of imagination in relation to the human body. In both cases, the crisscrossing of pedagogical lines from biology into music and music into art helped to transform students’ relationships with ambiguity from being negative and closed-off, to positive and constructive.

Teaching Human Anatomy: A Comparison of In-Person and Online Learning Programs

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created challenges in providing anatomy instruction to allied health professions. Human anatomy laboratory classes often rely on human cadavers as instructional material. At some institutions, the anatomical instructional method shifted to online resources. It was essential to compare online methods to those used in the traditional cadaver-based curriculum to determine efficacy. A technique was devised to compare these two approaches. The working hypothesis was that virtual human anatomy models are equally effective to traditional methods in providing anatomy instruction to allied health students. Methods: Students enrolled in this study participated in a human anatomy course delivered either in-person or virtually via Aclan’s Anatomy, NetAnatomy, and Anatomy TV. The instructional design was the same except that the in-person learning group participated in a real-time cadaver anatomy lab, while the virtual learning group utilized online models and simulations. Students were assessed using the same three written tests and three laboratory examinations. Results: Student demographics and evaluation outcomes were presented, and no significant differences concerning sex or educational program between the two student cohorts were identified. Post hoc testing revealed no statistically significant differences between student cohort and test-type. The three-way interaction between test type, test number, and cohort was not significant. Conclusions: The findings confirmed the hypothesis. There were no statistically significant differences between the test performance of human anatomy students who received online training versus those who participated in in-person classroom instruction. These results suggest that human anatomy can be taught effectively using an online format.

LEARNING ANATOMY DURING COVID PANDEMIC: A STUDY FROM UNIVERSAL COLLEGE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE

Background: Pandemic plays a pivotal role in reshaping history of mankind. Forced disruption in anatomy education system has compelled us to start all our classes online. Although the COVID‐19 pandemic is likely to be the first which current anatomy students are affected by, lessons and experiences can be drawn from the present crises to help us adapt and reform anatomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate medical students’ experience about learning anatomy online during covid pandemic. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out at universal college of medical science among first and second year MBBS and BDS students from 1st June 2020 to 30th August 2020. A semi-structured, validated, feedback questionnaire was emailed to a total of 255 students, and the filled up response was received from 211 students. The data were collected and descriptive analysis was done using SPSS ver. 22. Results: Almost 178(84.36%) of students were understanding anatomy class through online lectures, Majority of students 196 (92.89%) of students consider dissection/cadavers or models as an integral part for learning anatomy. similarly, more than three fourth 168(79.62%) of students were in favor of combination of online class with traditional class for better understanding of anatomy discipline. Conclusions: Online anatomy class was considered effective during crisis but students were suggesting blending of online class with traditional class. Lesson should be learned from current pandemic and explore anatomy education system beyond traditional. We highly recommend development of new anatomy blended curriculum for better understanding of subject.

The Effectiveness of Augmented and Virtual Reality in the Education of Physical Therapy Students

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> To determine the effectiveness of augmented and virtual reality as a teaching modality on doctor of physical therapy students' learning as seen through confidence, recall, retention and application as compared to traditional teaching methods. <h3>Design</h3> Posttest only control group design with retrospective analysis. <h3>Setting</h3> Private secondary institution, doctoral physical therapy (DPT) program, American International College (AIC), Springfield, MA. <h3>Participants</h3> Convenience sample, 297 first year graduate DPT students enrolled in Gross Anatomy, AIC. Control group: 162 (cohorts 2017 & 2018); experimental group: 135 (cohorts 2019 & 2020). <h3>Interventions</h3> "Visible Body" (VB), augmented and virtual reality (VR) software used by experimental group; control group: attended traditional in-person lecture and laboratory classes. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> Objective data scores (three lecture exams, Osteology Practical exam and Dissection lab exam) collected anonymously for each cohort, calculated by the primary course faculty. Subjective data (quantitative and qualitative) assessed through survey. <h3>Results</h3> Exam scores compared for three groups with different levels of exposure to VB (did not use VB (1), optional use VB (2), and required use VB (3)). Analyses (ANOVA and T-Tests) showed statistical significance with the mean performance for Group 1 being significantly lower than Groups 2 and 3. Osteology exam: No significant difference between groups noted. Dissection Exam: Group 3 scored significantly higher than the other groups. Survey data on the students' self-efficacy towards their ability to learn Gross Anatomy with the VB software proved to be statistically significant (95% CI). Researchers were blinded to all scores and surveys. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Positive correlation exists between grades and the use of the VB application, indicating that the use of VR is an effective resource for DPT students in learning Gross Anatomy. Additionally, VB may be an adequate substitute for cadaver lab for dissection, though aspects of quality and understanding of anatomical relationships may be diminished in the use of virtual software alone. Further research to substantiate these results and further analyze the benefits of VR as a superior resource for learning Gross Anatomy amongst DPT programs is necessary. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> No disclosures/conflicts.

Inclusion of case-based learning within gross anatomy practical sessions

Background The introduction of clinical scenarios or case-based learning within the practical gross anatomy sessions is one way of vertically integrating anatomy into medical curricula. This study presents the overall outcome of including case-based learning within the practical classes of gross anatomy to undergraduate final anatomy students (semester four), in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum. Methods This descriptive interventional study was implemented during gross anatomy practical sessions for final anatomy students (semester four) at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum. Case-based learning was added to traditional prosection-based stations. Data concerning the responses of participants to different items of Likert scale questions were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire covered aspects of gross anatomy teaching and learning. In addition, final anatomy examination scores (students who were exposed to case-based learning) were compared to scores of the previous year (not exposed to case-based learning). Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 20. Results Participants who responded to the questionnaire were 216 (78 males, 136 females and 2 were missing) out of 313, generating a response rate of 69%. The mean age of the participants in the study was 18.9 ± 0.84 years. Students reported increased satisfaction in all sessions where clinical scenarios casebased learning were included. The percentage of students who chose the options ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ in the different questionnaire items were as follows:84.9 % for ‘’help in formulation of intended learning outcomes’, 76.8% for ‘gain of deep knowledge versus superficial knowledge’, 71.3% for ‘increased retention of anatomical facts’, 62.5% for ‘increased interest in anatomy course’, 74.4% for ‘increased understanding of gross anatomy course’, 76.4% for ‘enjoying gross anatomy’ and 72.9% expressed overall student satisfaction. Most of the students (89.7%) recommended continuation of the integrated casebased learning sessions. There was a significant improvement in students` scores in gross anatomy final examination when compared to previous year’s scores of students who were not exposed to case-based learning. The mean scores were 69.7 ± 16.6 and 64.2 ± 17.9, respectively (d=0.317, P&lt;0.001). Conclusion Introduction of case-based learning within prosection-based gross anatomy sessions resulted in better levels of students’ satisfaction and improved students’ performance in the final gross anatomy examination.

The Brain Book

The Brain Book covers exactly what you would expect: anatomy and physiology of the human central nervous system. Chapters are divided into three main concepts: basic structure as it relates to function (“Brain and spinal cord function”; “Nerves, nerve cells, and brain chemistry”; “Development of the brain and spinal cord”), the brain in action (“The senses”; “Movement and actions”; “The social and thinking brain”), and lastly a group of chapters that could be thought of as the brain in special circumstances (“The social and thinking brain”; “Mind, consciousness, mood and repair”; “Brain plasticity, injury, and repair”; “Drugs and the brain”; “Diseases and disorders”). Each chapter provides a two-page overview followed by detailed analysis of the topic at hand. Basic anatomy and physiology of systems are reviewed in detail, with many supporting and clarifying diagrams and illustrations. Photographs of people performing essential life-tasks that demonstrate a particular brain function, performing diagnostics, or undergoing medical tests bring the concepts close to home as readers see “real people” in context with the science discussed. Descriptive narrative is supported by many visuals; the diagrammatic illustrations are particularly clear and well presented.The Brain Book is an excellent, clear introduction to the central nervous system. The complex functioning of the brain is a miracle of human physiology; as such, The Brain Book covers a vast realm of fascinating concepts. Each topic is carefully explained through text and diagram. Visual consistencies allow readers to apply understanding established in one section to application in another – for example, diagrams used to explain synapses are repeated with modifications in sections explaining the physiology of drugs and diseases. Pathologies are often presented in the discussion of normal physiology, helping the reader understand anatomy and physiology through seeing what happens when normal function fails. Almost every section places brain science in the context of the lived human experience through anecdotes, photographs, diagrams, and historical scenarios. These bring topics to life for readers in connection with their own experience and understanding.Encyclopedic in scope, The Brain Book is less a “good read” than a clear and valuable reference. Examples and case presentation, often focused on young people and developing minds, makes The Brain Book particularly valuable and relevant to high school and college-age readers. Richly illustrated and appealing, The Brain Book would be a valuable addition to the library of any student of biology, anatomy, or physiology.

Development and application of digital assistive teaching system for anatomy

BackgroundAnatomy is a required course for all medicine-related industries. In recent decades, the teaching quality and effect of anatomy have been compromised by factors including a decrease in human body specimens, dampened enthusiasm for the discipline, reduced teaching hours of anatomy, scale expansion of medical education, and obstacles in performing field autopsies and observations. MethodsBased on China's digitalized visible human research achievements, this article extracts the boundary information of anatomic structures from tomographic images, constructs threedimensional (3D) digital anatomical models with authentic texture information, and develops an anatomy assistive teaching system for teachers and students based on the knowledge points of anatomy, to meet the anatomy teaching requirements of different majors at various levels. ResultsThis scientific, complete, and holistic system has produced over 6000 3D digital anatomical models, 5000 anatomy knowledge points, 50 anatomical operation videos, and 150 micro demonstration classes, with teaching contents for different majors and levels, such as systematic anatomy, topographic anatomy, sectional anatomy, anatomy of motion, and virtual anatomical operation table. Ranging from network terminals, desktops, touchscreen 3D displays, desktops, and projection 3D volumetric displays to augmented reality, its diversified interactive forms meet the requirements for a learning environment in different settings. ConclusionsWith multiple teaching and learning links covered, such as teaching environment, teaching resources, instructional slides, autonomous learning, and learning effect evaluation, this novel teaching system serves as a vital component and a necessary resource in anatomy teaching and functions as an important supplement to traditional anatomy teaching. Applied and promoted in most medical colleges and schools in China, this system has been recognized and approved by anatomy teachers and students, and plays a positive role in guaranteeing the effect and quality of anatomy teaching.

Anatomy Teaching and Learning in Malaysia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The abrupt transition from face-to-face to online anatomy teaching amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has posed great challenges to anatomy lecturers in Malaysia, as they have had to adapt to new skills to prepare and deliver online classes. These online classes were delivered either synchronously via a web teleconferencing application or asynchronously through pre-recorded videos that were uploaded to the learning management system (LMS). The online delivery of anatomy practical classes has become a major concern among anatomy lecturers and students, especially in public institutions, as there is a lack of hands-on experience and social interaction. Nevertheless, some private medical schools have adapted well to both online lectures and practical classes, as they had been venturing towards online learning and virtual reality tools even before the pandemic commenced. The Malaysian Anatomical Association (MAA) webinar, “Transformation of Anatomy Education in Malaysia during COVID-19 Pandemic”, discussed the issues related to lecturers’ and students’ receptivity to online anatomy classes. This study discusses the issues related to online anatomy teaching and learning (T&amp;L) and the actions taken by the university’s governance and anatomy faculty members to resolve the issues discussed in the academic discourse.

Implementing Fabrication as a Pedagogical Tool in Vertebrate Anatomy Courses: Motivation, Inclusion, and Lessons.

SynopsisIncreasing course structure by incorporating active learning and multimodal pedagogical strategies benefits all learners. Students of vertebrate anatomy can especially benefit from practicing fabrication, or “making”, incorporating skills such as 3D digital modeling, 3D printing, and using familiar low-tech materials to construct informed replicas of animal anatomy. Student perceptions of active learning projects are shaped by motivation theories such as the expectancy-value theory and self-directed learning, both of which are briefly reviewed here. This paper offers inspiration and resources to instructors for establishing a makerspace in an anatomy lab and leveraging community partners to stimulate students to construct their own versions of nature's designs. Learning science in informal environments and specifically in makerspaces has been shown to promote equity and increase motivation to study science. Examples here emphasize accessibility for diverse learners, including strategies for instructors to ensure ease of student access to 3D technology. Scaffolding formative assessments builds student confidence and expertise, further closing opportunity gaps. Two specific cases are detailed where fabrication and the use of 3D digital models are used to augment student learning of vertebrate anatomy at a small liberal arts college. In a semester-long research project in an introductory biomechanics course, students investigate, write about, and build models of animal anatomy of their choice. They use simple materials, crafting supplies, household tools, and/or 3D printing to demonstrate structures of interest, enhancing understanding of the physical principles of animal form and function. Given increased availability of CT data online, students can download, analyze, and 3D print skeletal models of both common and endangered animals. Comparative anatomy students reported that they had increased motivation to study intricate skeletal anatomy simply by manipulating bones in a 3D software assignment. Students in both classes reported enjoying the use of fabrication in learning vertebrate anatomy and this may establish a pattern of lifelong learning.

Development of a Virtual Journal Club in Anatomy: a Responsive Pandemic Pedagogy.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced changes to online teaching worldwide. The Clinical Anatomy journal club (JC) is key in the Bachelor of Science Honours (BScHons) programme and aims to improve scientific appraisal and communication abilities in anatomical research. An online JC through synchronous contact between members was deemed fitting as it could bridge the newly enforced geographical limitations due to the national lockdown in South Africa. Although common in clinical specialties, there are no published reports of anatomy themed online JCs. This project aimed to develop, implement, and appraise a synchronous virtual JC for Clinical Anatomy during the COVID-19 South African lockdown. A qualitative exploratory study design within an interpretive/constructivist paradigm was followed and aimed to explore students’ perceptions of a virtual anatomy JC during the lockdown. The study was conducted at a South African institution, within the BScHons programme, and all enrolled students were invited to participate. Upon receipt of informed consent, an anonymous questionnaire was administered via Moodle for the BScHons students. The responses were analysed by thematic analysis, codes were developed, and themes were generated. Two main themes were generated from the results: the first related to the virtual format of the JC and the second focused on the content and topics covered during the JC sessions. The Clinical Anatomy staff and students adapted rapidly to the virtual JC and formed a community of practice. The benefits of teaching and learning within JC were maintained during the virtual format. It is envisioned that the JC will continue in a hybrid format (face-to-face and virtual) in future academic years.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01325-8.

The Smart Skeleton: an open-source, interactive tool for teaching muscle actions and joint movements.

This paper describes the design, construction, and use of an open-source hardware and software tool intended to help Anatomy and Physiology students test their knowledge of muscle actions and joint movements. Orientation sensors are attached to a model skeleton to turn the skeleton into an interactive, physical model for teaching limb movements. A detailed description of the construction of the tool is provided, as well as the configuration and use of companion software.

Developing a Hybrid Four-Prong Approach to Anatomical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During COVID-19, the anatomy faculty and students at Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry observed strengths and weaknesses in their transition to online learning. A “four-prong” approach to teaching anatomy was developed. Asynchronous content modules were tailored to specific learning objectives, virtual labs were implemented to work through case-based applications, “live from the lab” review sessions provided the opportunity for interaction and integration, and finally, limited face-to-face laboratory sessions provided an opportunity for supervised consolidation with cadaveric specimens. Our approach may be used by other institutions to enhance anatomical education and student engagement.

The Brave New World of Anatomy: Using AI to Grade Practical Examinations

In a shift of medical education to a competency-based curriculum, practical examinations (PEs) are an effective but resource-intensive method of evaluating anatomy students. The short answer format of PEs requires evaluators familiar with the content to mark the exams. Moreover, the increasing transition to online anatomy courses could result in students losing the PE practice they would receive during in-person sessions. By virtue of the technical and close-ended nature of typical PE answers as well as grading usually being a binary ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’ classification with no partial credit, it was hypothesized that the limited lexicon would allow for accurate grading using artificial intelligence disciplinessuch as natural language processing and decision trees (DTs). This research was done as a first step towards making an intelligent tutoring system for anatomy students. The study used the winter semester online PE results (n = 371) from McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences’ anatomy and physiology course as the data set. For each of the 54 questions, a 10-fold cross-validation process was used where 90% of the answers (training set) trained the DT. After removing common words unrelated to correctness (“the”, “a”, “an”, etc.), each DT was comprised of unique words that appeared in student answers in a tree-like structure of nodes. Each node has an associated word as well as a correct/incorrect classification label and splits into sub-nodes (creating the tree-like structure). The remaining 10% of the answers (testing set), was marked by the generated DTs by traversing the tree starting from the top-most node. After traversing the tree, the classification label of the final node became the grade for the student's answer. Accuracy for each question was calculated as the number of proper classifications by the algorithm over the total number of answers. When the answer marked by the DT were compared to the answers marked by staff and faculty, the DT achieved an average of 94.49% accuracy in grading every non-blank student answer across all 54 questions. It was found that accuracy was negatively correlated to the number of unique words in the set of answers (-0.71, p<0.07), which was consistent with the initial hypothesis. As features such as spellchecking were not included in the algorithm to reduce the number of variables, the current results may underestimate the effectiveness of automated PE grading by DTs. The accuracy attained by the algorithms suggests that machine learning algorithms such as NLP and DTs may be used to reduce the workload of manual PE grading by instructional staff and mark a step towards developing an intelligent online PE tutoring system for anatomy.

Development of an In‐Person Dissection Based Learning Environment for Medical and Dental Gross Anatomy Students during a Pandemic

Human anatomy is complex and best understood through hands‐on dissection in the laboratory. Faced with the daunting task of adapting to the constraints brought on by the pandemic, a team of current and past course directors, while under extreme and fluid circumstances, designed systems to allow for a dissection based, in‐person curriculum for large student groups (220 medical and 105 dental) while maintaining a safe environment. Through immeasurable hours of deliberations, numerous unique and novel changes were instituted. Tank teams of students (6 medical & 4 dental) were assigned to rotating pairs of dissection or review teams. A complex plan of staggered student entry into and exit from the laboratory, provided for distancing. 3D printed face shields, designed and assembled in house, were provided to faculty; additional face shields were provided to students. An intricate rotating peer‐teaching component was incorporated to hand off the dissection between groups and to allow for study of anatomical variations. In‐person lectures were converted to virtual platforms using both synchronous and asynchronous formats. Medical tank teams met virtually to review and report on their dissection. A strict protocol was designed for in‐person self‐study. Students have embraced these designs and safety protocols and continue to perform extremely well. Student success, as measured by exam performance, is comparable to previous years. While several students required absences out of an abundance of caution, none of the students tested positive due to contact during the actual lab time. Three students reported testing positive for COVID‐19 following the Thanksgiving break. This time‐intensive endeavor required creativity, commitment, and leadership, and has had several novel benefits to include improved student to faculty ratio, more time for self‐study, and the additional responsibility and accountability for tank‐mates to act as both learners and teachers.

Virtual dissection approach is an alternative approach to teach post‐traumatic stress students

Human gross anatomy is largely considered to be the central course in the curriculum of first year Allied health students. The course uses cadaver dissection as the primary teaching modality. This traditional approach in anatomy instruction provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the three-dimensional organization of the human body. The well-established cadaveric approach in anatomy education fails to appreciate the profound psychological effects on students with existing psychological disorders. This case report is a presentation of such effects of a traditional approach on a student with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The student used as the case study served in the United States Army in Afghanistan and was given an honorable discharge due to a diagnosis of tinnitus and adjustment disorder. The student was also assigned a disability rating of 40%. This student was exposed to a high-stress environment which led to the diagnosis of PTSD. The cadaveric approach to the student's anatomy education only exacerbated his condition, triggering his stress disorder. It should also be noted that the student had lost a relative due to colon cancer, as this made abdominal dissection difficult to perform. An alternate approach was considered to accommodate the student, while still maintaining the sufficiency needed to provide the standard of education for a health sciences student. The virtual approach of cadaveric dissections, with benefits impossible for a traditional dissection, also strives to provide students with the opportunity to improve the understanding of the three-dimensional and spatial relationships of human gross anatomy. This case is presented to those who teach anatomy to identify this modality of education as an alternative approach to sufficient and comprehensive anatomy education.

A Bigger Q ‐ Evaluating the impact of pandemic‐related course changes on students’ learning experiences

Background There is no clear way to know how changes in a course have impacted the student learning experience. In a recent series of studies, our group established Q-methodology as a robust alternative to traditional Likert-scale course evaluations. Through utilizing a revised statement ranking system, and combining qualitative and quantitative analysis methods, Q-methodology mitigates issues of disparate feedback, and averaged scores which make Likert-scale data difficult to interpret and act upon. Our previous work has demonstrated that students can be statistically grouped based upon shared opinions, preferences and values, and that evidence-based course reform decisions can be made with this information. In a remarkable year, requiring significant and rapid adjustment to accommodate pandemic-related measures, understanding how students perceived their course experience is important not only to examine outcomes but ensure future evidence-based changes are possible. Objective Through sequential Q-methodology course evaluations, this study evaluates how course changes, made in response to emergency pandemic teaching/learning, alter students’ perceptions of their course experience. Methods In 2019 and 2020, students in a multi-disciplinary undergraduate anatomy and physiology course were asked to complete the same Q-methodology course evaluation, ranking 37 statements relative to each other at year end. Between academic years, significant changes in course delivery (laboratory and tutorial sessions moved online) as well assessment modality (multiple choice exams changed to a group assignment) were made. Data from both 2020 (n=64) and 2019 (n=125) were analyzed together via by-person factor analysis, and factors were interpreted using Q-methodology conventions. Participant distributions across the factors were compared between cohorts (2020 vs 2019) and across demographics via Pearson's Chi-square test. Results A three-factor solution statistically grouped students with a generally 1) positive, 2) negative and 3) neutral disposition toward the course. Those in the 2019 and 2020 cohorts were significantly differently distributed amongst the factors (p = 0.006), such that a greater proportion of the 2020 vs 2019 cohort (58% vs 37%) expressed dissatisfaction with the course. Primarily, dissatisfaction surrounded issues with course structure and assessment – two aspects which were significantly altered in response to the 2020 pandemic. Demographics were not significantly different across factors. Conclusion Clear evidence for course reform relies upon knowing what worked, and what didn't. In this case, while a negative shift in disposition seems unremarkable, Q-methodology uncovered key elements contributing to student dissatisfaction which are important to consider as programs consider online-learning as a long-term option.

Interdisciplinary Collaborative Learning as an Alternate to In‐person Laboratory Experiences for Exercise Science and Biology Undergraduate Students

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major challenges to in-person undergraduate laboratory experiences, forcing instructors to find new methods for content delivery and skills development. A spring 2020 collaborative project examining maximal oxygen consumption, lactate threshold, and effects of caffeine consumption on maximal exercise performance paired Exercise Physiology students with Human Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) students to meet learning goals for both courses and to facilitate remote research skill development. The project replaced a hands-on A&P investigation that fulfills conceptual knowledge, data analysis, and communication learning goals and Exercise Science course-based undergraduate research experiences that meet conceptual knowledge and inquiry and analysis learning goals. 24 upper-level undergraduate Exercise Physiology students with VO2max and lactate threshold testing experience served as Consultants to upper-level undergraduate A&P students. A&P students (138 students; 9 laboratory sections) were divided into 31 groups of 4-5 students, with 1-3 groups assigned to each Consultant. Groups were intentionally structured to include a diversity of majors and GPAs. Students were provided with data collected in previous years. Consultants met with each group at least 3 times, serving as expert advisors to help A&P students: 1) understand VO2max and lactate threshold physiology, 2) understand VO2max and lactate threshold testing procedures, 3) develop a research question with appropriately-designed data comparisons and statistical tests, 4) analyze data from two conditions (caffeine and no caffeine), and 5) create appropriate figures, analyze results, and form conclusions based on data. The project successfully replaced a hands-on lab experience due to the Consultants’ prior experience conducting and analyzing data from maximal exercise tests, as well as developing research questions based on maximal exercise testing. Consultants provided A&P students with an additional resource for success and helped instructors manage their workload during the transition to emergency online instruction. A&P students indicated the project was generally successful, although they would have preferred in-person data collection experience and more direct supervision from instructors. Consultants indicated their previous experience with protocols and content was helpful, and teaching peers reinforced their understanding. Challenges included relative timing of instruction on fundamentals of exercise testing vs. data availability, scheduling conflicts, and the sudden move to remote learning. Interdepartmental collaborative projects that pair students with prior in-person data collection experience as Consultants for peers may provide a useful alternative to in-person labs because they reinforce Consultant understanding of procedures and data analysis, build peer understanding of procedures and data analysis, and manage instructor workload.