The implementation of clay modeling and rat dissection into the human anatomy and physiology curriculum of a large urban community college

After a considerable amount of research and experimentation, cat dissection was replaced with rat dissection and clay modeling in the human anatomy and physiology laboratory curricula at La Guardia Community College (LAGCC), a large urban community college of the City University of New York (CUNY). This article describes the challenges faculty overcame and the techniques used to solve them. Methods involved were: developing a laboratory manual in conjunction with the publisher, holding training sessions for faculty and staff, the development of instructional outlines for students and lesson plans for faculty, the installation of storage facilities to hold mannequins instead of cat specimens, and designing mannequin clean‐up techniques that could be used by more than one thousand students each semester. The effectiveness of these curricular changes was assessed by examining student muscle practical examination grades and the responses of faculty and students to questionnaires. The results demonstrated that the majority of faculty felt prepared to teach using clay modeling and believed the activity was effective in presenting lesson content. Students undertaking clay modeling had significantly higher muscle practical examination grades than students undertaking cat dissection, and the majority of students believed that clay modeling was an effective technique to learn human skeletal, respiratory, and cardiovascular anatomy, which included the names and locations of blood vessels. Furthermore, the majority of students felt that rat dissection helped them learn nervous, digestive, urinary, and reproductive system anatomy. Faculty experience at LAGCC may serve as a resource to other academic institutions developing new curricula for large, on‐going courses. Anat Sci Educ. 7: 38–46. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Clay modeling versus written modules as effective interventions in understanding human anatomy

The effectiveness of clay modeling to written modules is examined to determine the degree of improvement in learning and retention of anatomical 3D relationships among students with different learning preferences. Thirty‐nine undergraduate students enrolled in a cadaver dissection course completed a pre‐assessment examination and the VARK questionnaire, classifying learning preference as visual, auditory, read/write, or kinesthetic. Students were divided into clay, module, and control groups with preference for learning style distributed among groups. The clay and module groups participated in weekly one‐hour classes using either clay models or answering written questions (modules) about anatomical relationships, respectively. The control group received no intervention. Post‐assessment and retention examinations were administered at the end of the semester, and three months later, respectively. Two variables (Δ1, Δ2) represented examination score differences between pre‐ and post‐assessment and between post‐assessment and retention examinations, respectively. The Δ1 for clay and module groups were each significantly higher than controls (21.46 ± 8.2 vs. 15.70 ± 7.5, P ≤ 0.05; and 21.31 ± 6.9 vs. 15.70 ± 7.5, P ≤0.05, respectively). The Δ2 for clay and module groups approached but did not achieve significance over controls (?6.09 ± 5.07 vs. ?8.80 ± 4.60, P = 0.16 and ?5.73 ± 4.47 vs. ?8.80 ± 4.60, P = 0.12, respectively). No significant differences were seen between interventions or learning preferences in any group. However, students of some learning styles tended to perform better when engaging in certain modalities. Multiple teaching modalities may accommodate learning preferences and improve understanding of anatomy. Anat Sci Educ. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Promoting metacognition in first year anatomy laboratories using plasticine modeling and drawing activities: a pilot study of the "blank page" technique

Many first year students of anatomy and physiology courses demonstrate an inability to self-regulate their learning. To help students increase their awareness of their own learning in a first year undergraduate anatomy course, we piloted an exercise that incorporated the processes of (1) active learning: drawing and plasticine modeling and (2) metacognition: planning, monitoring, reaction, and reflection. The activity was termed "blank page" because all learning cues were removed and students had to create models and diagrams from reflection and recall. Two hundred and eighty-two students responded to a questionnaire reporting qualitative feedback on the exercise. Based on student responses, the "blank page" activity was a positive learning experience and confirmed a need to teach metacognitive skills. From this pilot study, we established that drawing or plasticine modeling is an excellent vehicle for demonstration of the metacognitive processes that enable self-regulation: a known predictor of academic success.     

试论高校大学社区文化建设——以肇庆学院为例

社区文化是大学校园文化的重要组成部分。社区不仅是大学生的休憩之所,也是学校的第二课堂。社区书院制是肇庆学院文化建设的一个亮点,与宿舍管理文化共同构成社区文化体系。社区文化建设的经验给我们以启发。     

Apprehension to engagement in the classroom: perceptions of Black males in the community college

This study presents selected findings drawn from a larger investigation of Black male students in the community college. In the larger study, qualitative interviews were conducted with 28 Black males attending a public two-year college in the southwestern United States. The focus of the larger study was on identifying factors which, from the perspectives of students, affected their academic success. Academic success referred primarily to students’ grade point averages or achievement and secondarily to continuation towards students’ self-proclaimed collegiate goals. A large portion of Black male participants in this study indicated that academic disengagement served to negatively affect their achievement in the community college. Students discussed academic disengagement as a reluctance to fully engage as active agents in their own academic development through necessary interactions.     

An analysis of the educational value of low-fidelity anatomy models as external representations

Although high-fidelity digital models of human anatomy based on actual cross-sectional images of the human body have been developed, reports on the use of physical models in anatomy teaching continue to appear. This article aims to examine the common features shared by these physical models and analyze their educational value based on the literature on cognition, learning, and external representations. A literature search on these physical models in three popular anatomy journals published over a 10-year period from 2001 to 2010 found that all of them have low fidelity: they oftentimes do not closely resemble the regions of the human body they are representing. They include only a small number of the structures that exist in these regions of the human body and do not accurately represent the shape and surface details of these structures. However, these models strongly correspond to the human body in the spatial relationship of the represented structures, which is crucial to achieving their educational purpose of teaching three-dimensional comprehension and anatomical reasoning. The educational value of these models includes acting as memory aids, reducing cognitive overload, facilitating problem solving, and arousing students' enthusiasm and participation. Because these models often lack a close resemblance to the human body, their use in anatomy teaching should always be accompanied by adequate explanations to the students to establish the correspondence between the models and the parts of the human body they are representing.     

The academic writing of community college remedial students: Text and learner variables

Community college remedial reading studentscomposed an informational report from sources,a task commonly assigned in higher educationthat integrally combines reading and writingprocesses. Productivity, use of source text,reproductions, accuracy, and inclusion of keyideas were analyzed as a function of twoexogenous variables, text density (high, low)and domain (health, business), and twoendogenous variables, prior knowledge andgeneral literacy skill. Text densityinteracted with literacy skill forproductivity, and with prior knowledge foraccuracy. Individuals with lower literacy orprior knowledge scores were at a disadvantagewith high but not low density source text. Domain affected productivity, use of source,and inclusion of key ideas: health text wasassociated with superior performance. Domaineffects may be explained by metacognitive ormotivational variables, or differences in thereadability of the source texts. The resultshave implications for instruction aimed atimproving community college students'preparedness for the academic demands of highereducation.     

美国社区学院特色及对我国高等职业技术教育的启示

作为美国社区学院主要职能之一的职业教育在社区学院的百年历史中发挥了举足轻重的作用。本文追述了职业教育的发展历史，分析了职业教育在课程设置、教学方法和师资建设等三个方面的特色，探讨了社区学院职业教育对我国高等职业技术教育的启示。     

Writing to learn ecology: a study of three populations of college students

Being an ecologically literate citizen involves making decisions that are based on ecological knowledge and accepting responsibility for personal actions. Using writing-to-learn activities in college science courses, we asked students to consider personal dilemmas that they or others might have in response to how human choices can impact coastal dead zones around the world. We explored how undergraduate students (42 biology and 47 elementary education majors at a 4-year college and eight Native studies majors at a tribal college in the United States) identified their ecological dilemmas after reading about aquatic hypoxia. About 30% of the 4-year college students’s essays demonstrated a more ecologically literate understanding of hypoxia by the end of the study. The tribal college students improved their ecological literacy by 50%, albeit with a small sample size. Biology majors made more human-centered comments than the education majors. The Native American students often discussed trade-offs between quality of life and ecological consequences, and were classified as both human-centered and ecosystem-centered.     

中国特色社区学校建设的可行性研究

一个文明的社区不只是高档住房和大量人口的简单汇集，还需要有文化内涵。社区物质务件的现代化不等同于市民的文明化，一个真正的文明市民要在文化素质层次上实现从农民到城镇居民，从普通城镇居民到文明市民的角色改变，需要完善社区的教育功能。社区教育的基本责任是：以“文化教育”治愚，以“生计教育”救穷，以“卫生教育”强体，以“公民教育”弘德。     

Validation of clay modeling as a learning tool for the periventricular structures of the human brain

Visualizing anatomical structures and functional processes in three dimensions (3D) are important skills for medical students. However, contemplating 3D structures mentally and interpreting biomedical images can be challenging. This study examines the impact of a new pedagogical approach to teaching neuroanatomy, specifically how building a 3D‐model from oil‐based modeling clay affects learners’ understanding of periventricular structures of the brain among undergraduate medical students in Colombia. Students were provided with an instructional video before building the models of the structures, and thereafter took a computer‐based quiz. They then brought their clay models to class where they answered questions about the structures via interactive response cards. Their knowledge of periventricular structures was assessed with a paper‐based quiz. Afterward, a focus group was conducted and a survey was distributed to understand students’ perceptions of the activity, as well as the impact of the intervention on their understanding of anatomical structures in 3D. Quiz scores of students that constructed the models were significantly higher than those taught the material in a more traditional manner (P < 0.05). Moreover, the modeling activity reduced time spent studying the topic and increased understanding of spatial relationships between structures in the brain. The results demonstrated a significant difference between genders in their self‐perception of their ability to contemplate and rotate structures mentally (P < 0.05). The study demonstrated that the construction of 3D clay models in combination with autonomous learning activities was a valuable and efficient learning tool in the anatomy course, and that additional models could be designed to promote deeper learning of other neuroanatomy topics. Anat Sci Educ 11: 137–145. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Anatomical knowledge gain through a clay‐modeling exercise compared to live and video observations

Clay modeling is increasingly used as a teaching method other than dissection. The haptic experience during clay modeling is supposed to correspond to the learning effect of manipulations during exercises in the dissection room involving tissues and organs. We questioned this assumption in two pretest–post‐test experiments. In these experiments, the learning effects of clay modeling were compared to either live observations (Experiment I) or video observations (Experiment II) of the clay‐modeling exercise. The effects of learning were measured with multiple choice questions, extended matching questions, and recognition of structures on illustrations of cross‐sections. Analysis of covariance with pretest scores as the covariate was used to elaborate the results. Experiment I showed a significantly higher post‐test score for the observers, whereas Experiment II showed a significantly higher post‐test score for the clay modelers. This study shows that (1) students who perform clay‐modeling exercises show less gain in anatomical knowledge than students who attentively observe the same exercise being carried out and (2) performing a clay‐modeling exercise is better in anatomical knowledge gain compared to the study of a video of the recorded exercise. The most important learning effect seems to be the engagement in the exercise, focusing attention and stimulating time on task. Anat Sci Educ 7: 420–429. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.     

语音语调大赛在高校英语语音教学中的应用研究

本文通过介绍语音语调大赛的实施过程与方法,采用应用研究法分析和讨论了语音语调大赛对创新语音教学,促进学生英语语音学习方面的作用。提出语音教学与评价亟待改进的方面：1）强调学生认知能力的发展;2）体现语音评价的人文关怀3）重视对语音教、学的反拨作用4）培养和考查学生在真实、有意义的交际中运用语音知识和能力。 研究为新形势下我国的语音教学及评价体系的改革开拓了新思路,提供了新视角。     

The continual need for improvement to avoid derailment: a study of college and university administrators

Understanding what relates to the behaviours associated with derailment (i.e. failure or burnout in managerial positions) may prevent costly outcomes of derailment for the manager, co‐workers and the organization. The outcomes of derailment are especially pertinent with those working in college and university administration as many, including faculty, other staff and students, depend on these administrators. Data collected about 173 middle‐ and top‐level college and university administrators from 88 different colleges and universities across the USA revealed that self‐ and observer‐ratings (peers and direct reports) of willingness to improve negatively related to boss ratings of derailment. Specifically, the more administrators were willing to improve (and the more others believed those administrators were willing to improve), the less likely it was that bosses believed those administrators displayed the characteristics and behaviours associated with derailment. We conclude with a discussion of our findings including guidance for college and university administrators.     

Medical students' perceptions of the body donor as a "first patient" or "teacher": a pilot study

University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) students attending a seminar on the history and ethics of anatomical dissection were fascinated by a report on the dissection room experience in Thailand that relates the body donor's status as a teacher. The students felt that they had naturally adopted the "body as teacher" approach in their dissection course, rather than the "body as first patient" approach that is encouraged by faculty. It was decided to explore the question whether other medical students shared these perceptions. A questionnaire was sent out to all UMMS students who had finished the anatomical dissection course. One hundred twenty-eight responses from a population of 500 students were received. Results indicate that students believe the "body as teacher" approach is more effective in engendering respect and empathy towards the body and towards future patients, and in facilitating students' emotional development. Students also reported wanting a more personal relationship with their donors. Eighty four percent of students preferred the "body as teacher" approach to the currently taught "body as first patient" approach. The results support the hypothesis that students' desired closer personal relationship with donors might be better facilitated by the "body as teacher" approach, and that this closer relationship engenders empathy and respect towards the donor and future patients. A new model for anatomy programs could introduce the donor first as a teacher and later transition into viewing the donor as a patient.     

Talking about death: Implementing peer discussion as a coping mechanism to overcome fears about dissection,death, and dying

Many studies have reported on the perceptions of medical students toward dissection. It is important to understand the feelings and symptoms experienced during dissection so that they can be adequately handled. Prior to dissection, first year students are given lectures on aspects of dissection, death and dying, and death rituals in various cultures. Two separate questionnaires, one given during the first week of dissection and another given one month into the program were then completed anonymously by dissection groups. The questions were designed to be open‐ended, thereby encouraging group discussion amongst students. The questionnaires were used to determine the perception of students to dissection and to discover if these perceptions change during the dissection program. The first questionnaire revealed that students do experience fears and anxiety prior to and at the beginning of dissection; however, most of these fears dissipated by the time of the second questionnaire. One month into dissection students cited talking to peers as their main coping mechanism and fewer students mentioned emotional detachment from their cadaver as a coping mechanism, as was the case in the first questionnaire. Dissection was perceived as a positive experience by our student cohort and most students cited the main advantage of dissection as the ability to visualize organs in three dimensions. The comprehensive answers received from the students indicated that thorough discussion of feelings amongst peers occurred, introducing students to an important coping mechanism at an early stage of their learning. Anat Sci Educ. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Couple reports of the perceived influences of a college human sexuality course: an exploratory study

Research on the effects of college sexuality education has been largely quantitative in nature and has focused on changes in individual attitudes, behaviours and knowledge. This study sought to explore, qualitatively, the influences of enrolment in a human sexuality course on relationships. Eight couples from an undergraduate human sexuality course completed a brief questionnaire and 60-minute semi-structured interviews, both together and individually. Interviews were analysed using critical qualitative methodologies. Findings suggest a wider range of perceived influences than indicated in the previous literature. In particular, after taking the class, participants felt less secretive about sex and more comfortable with sexuality overall. All participants shared some aspects of the class with their partners, exposing several themes surrounding perceived influences of the class. These included increased communication overall, and particularly about sex; changes to body image, self-confidence and agency; perceived changes to their relationship and sexual relationship; willingness to try new sexual behaviours or positions; and new information related to health and anatomy that led to increased health protective behaviours and, in some cases, increased sexual pleasure. Implications for intervention evaluation methods and for sexuality educators are discussed.     

Unlocking the potential of the Internet to improve college choice: a comparative case study of college-access Web tools

Students and parents rely on Web-based tools to navigate the college-choice process, yet little research has been done to understand this environment. While this shift has made the process easier to navigate for some, we contend that the move will grow an already large digital divide in the USA. We use Hossler and Gallagher's college-choice framework to examine the substance and function of three college-access Web portals. Our findings suggest these tools are likely to serve many students well in the process, but may exacerbate the digital divide with consequences for low-income students.     

Postgraduate fellows as teaching assistants in human anatomy: an experimental teaching model at a Chinese research university

Postgraduate fellowship training programs are expanding at Chinese universities. This growing cadre of advanced trainees calls for the development of new learning and training models wherein postgraduate fellows have an ample opportunity to teach more junior learners, thereby expanding their own knowledge base and competitiveness for future employment. Educational reform at Sun Yat-Sen University has recently allowed postgraduate fellows to act as teaching assistants for undergraduate anatomy courses. This model is common in western countries but is novel in China.