Does spatial ability help the learning of anatomy in a biomedical science course?

A three‐dimensional appreciation of the human body is the cornerstone of clinical anatomy. Spatial ability has previously been found to be associated with students' ability to learn anatomy and their examination performance. The teaching of anatomy has been the subject of major change over the last two decades with the reduction in time spent on dissection and greater use of web‐based and computer‐based resources. In this study, we examine whether the relationship between spatial ability and performance in anatomy examinations is sustained in a contemporary curriculum. A comparison of students' performance in a series of tests of spatial ability to their anatomy examination scores in biomedical sciences course exhibited only weak association (r = 0.145 and P = 0.106). This has implications for the use of spatial ability as a predictor of success in introductory subjects in the teaching of anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 7: 289–294. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Computer visualizations: factors that influence spatial anatomy comprehension

Computer visualizations are increasingly common in education across a range of subject disciplines, including anatomy. Despite optimism about their educational potential, students sometime have difficulty learning from these visualizations. The purpose of this study was to explore a range of factors that influence spatial anatomy comprehension before and after instruction with different computer visualizations. Three major factors were considered: (1) visualization ability (VZ) of learners, (2) dynamism of the visual display, and (3) interactivity of the system. Participants (N = 60) of differing VZs (high, low) studied a group of anatomical structures in one of three visual conditions (control, static, dynamic) and one of two interactive conditions (interactive, non-interactive). Before and after the study phase, participants' comprehension of spatial anatomical information was assessed using a multiple-choice spatial anatomy task (SAT) involving the mental rotation of the anatomical structures, identification of the structures in 2D cross-sections, and localization of planes corresponding to given cross-sections. Results indicate that VZ had a positive influence on SAT performance but instruction with different computer visualizations could modulate the effect of VZ on task performance.     

Time limits in testing: An analysis of eye movements and visual attention in spatial problem solving

Individuals with an aptitude for interpreting spatial information (high mental rotation ability: HMRA) typically master anatomy with more ease, and more quickly, than those with low mental rotation ability (LMRA). This article explores how visual attention differs with time limits on spatial reasoning tests. Participants were assorted to two groups based on their mental rotation ability scores and their eye movements were collected during these tests. Analysis of salience during testing revealed similarities between MRA groups in untimed conditions but significant differences between the groups in the timed one. Question‐by‐question analyses demonstrate that HMRA individuals were more consistent across the two timing conditions (κ = 0.25), than the LMRA (κ = 0.013). It is clear that the groups respond to time limits differently and their apprehension of images during spatial problem solving differs significantly. Without time restrictions, salience analysis suggests LMRA individuals attended to similar aspects of the images as HMRA and their test scores rose concomitantly. Under timed conditions however, LMRA diverge from HMRA attention patterns, adopting inflexible approaches to visual search and attaining lower test scores. With this in mind, anatomical educators may wish to revisit some evaluations and teaching approaches in their own practice. Although examinations need to evaluate understanding of anatomical relationships, the addition of time limits may induce an unforeseen interaction of spatial reasoning and anatomical knowledge. Anat Sci Educ 10: 528–537. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Does spatial awareness training affect anatomy learning in medical students?

Spatial ability (SA) is the cognitive capacity to understand and mentally manipulate concepts of objects, remembering relationships among their parts and those of their surroundings. Spatial ability provides a learning advantage in science and may be useful in anatomy and technical skills in health care. This study aimed to assess the relationship between SA and anatomy scores in first- and second-year medical students. The training sessions focused on the analysis of the spatial component of objects' structure and their interaction as applied to medicine; SA was tested using the Visualization of Rotation (ROT) test. The intervention group (n = 29) received training and their pre- and post-training scores for the SA tests were compared to a control group (n = 75). Both groups improved their mean scores in the follow-up SA test (P < 0.010). There was no significant difference in SA scores between the groups for either SA test (P = 0.31, P = 0.90). The SA scores for female students were significantly lower than for male students, both at baseline and follow-up (P < 0.010). Anatomy training and assessment were administered by the anatomy department of the medical school, and examination scores were not significantly different between the two groups post-intervention (P = 0.33). However, participants with scores in the bottom quartile for SA performed worse in the anatomy questions (P < 0.001). Spatial awareness training did not improve SA or anatomy scores; however, SA may identify students who may benefit from additional academic support.     

Development of a didactical training concept for peer tutors in gross anatomy

Even though peer tutors are often used in gross anatomy courses, research in the field is rather a subject of the last two decades. This is especially true about the didactical challenges these types of peer tutors experience during their tutorials and about how they are prepared for the task. The aim of the presented study was to learn about the training needs of the tutors, and to subsequently design, implement, and evaluate a didactical training concept. A qualitative design was chosen to examine how tutors can best be prepared for tutorials of gross anatomy. To do so, focus group interviews were conducted. The data were analyzed and grouped into various concepts, using semi‐structured interview questions as guidance. It was found that peer tutors are in need of training in the following aspects: Dealing with students who are experiencing difficulties during or as a result of dissection, dealing with group dynamics, that is, at the dissection table, keeping students motivated, time management, and staying confident as a tutor. In order to be regarded as useful and relevant in the eyes of tutors, a preparatory training course should include all these aspects in addition to general didactical training elements. Training needs of peer tutors of gross anatomy go beyond the content of standardized didactical curricula; therefore, tutors should be prepared with a curriculum that is specifically geared toward the many challenges associated with teaching gross anatomy to first year medical students which are already so well documented in the research literature. Anat Sci Educ 10: 495–502. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Team-based learning in anatomy: an efficient, effective, and economical strategy

Team-based learning (TBL) strategy is being adopted in medical education to implement interactive small group learning. We have modified classical TBL to fit our curricular needs and approach. Anatomy lectures were replaced with TBL that required preparation of assigned content specific discussion topics (in the text referred as discussion topics), an individual self-assessment quiz (IRAT), analysis of the discussion topics, and then the team retaking the same quiz (GRAT) for discussion and deeper learning. Embryology and clinical correlations were given as lectures. Unit examinations consisted of graded IRAT and GRAT. The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Subject Examination was the comprehensive final examination. To evaluate the effect of TBL on student performance we compared the departmental and NBME subject examination scores between the traditional and TBL curricula. We collected five years of data on student performance in TBL-based anatomy and lecture-based preclinical courses. Our results show that departmental and NBME subject examination scores for TBL-based anatomy were higher than those for lecture-based anatomy. We subsequently compared average NBME scores for anatomy with those in other preclinical courses that were lecture-based. Average NBME anatomy scores were significantly higher than those for all the lecture-based preclinical courses. Since the introduction of TBL in anatomy, student performance has progressively improved in the NBME subject examination. Students perceived TBL as a motivator to be a responsible team member and to contribute to collective learning by the team. Further, it reinforced self-directed learning and fostered an appreciation for peer respect. Interestingly, these perceptions were uniform irrespective of student course performance.     

Problem‐based learning in regional anatomy education at Peking University

Problem‐based learning (PBL) has been introduced to medical schools around the world and has increasingly become a popular pedagogical technique in Asian countries since 1990. Gross anatomy is a fundamental basic science course in virtually all medical training programs, and the methods used to teach it are under frequent scrutiny and revision. Students often struggle with the vast collection of new terms and complex relationships between structures that they must learn. To help students with this process, our department teaches separate systemic and regional anatomy courses, the latter in a PBL format. After three years of using PBL in our regional anatomy course, we have worked out a set of effective instructions that we would like to share with other medical schools. We report here evidence that our clinical PBL approach stimulates students' interest in learning and enhances anatomy education in a way that can foster better practices in our future medical work force. Anat Sci Educ. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Evaluation of computer‐aided instruction in a gross anatomy course: A six‐year study

Web‐based computer‐aided instruction (CAI) has become increasingly important to medical curricula. This multi‐year study investigated the effectiveness of CAI and the factors affecting level of individual use. Three CAI were tested that differed in specificity of applicability to the curriculum and in the level of student interaction with the CAI. Student personality preferences and learning styles were measured using the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (LSI). Information on “computer literacy” and use of CAI was collected from student surveys. Server logs were used to quantify individual use of respective CAI. There was considerable variability in the level of utilization of each CAI by individual students. Individual use of each CAI differed and was associated with gender, MBTI preferences and learning style, but not with “computer literacy.” The majority of students found the CAI useful for learning and used the CAI by themselves. Students who accessed the CAI resources most frequently scored significantly higher on exams compared with students who never accessed the resources. Our results show that medical students do not uniformly use CAI developed for their curriculum and this variability is associated with various attributes of individual students. Our data also provide evidence of the importance of understanding student preferences and learning styles when implementing CAI into the curriculum. Anat Sci Ed 2:2–8, 2009. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

How useful is YouTube in learning heart anatomy?

Nowadays more and more modern medical degree programs focus on self‐directed and problem‐based learning. That requires students to search for high quality and easy to retrieve online resources. YouTube is an emerging platform for learning human anatomy due to easy access and being a free service. The purpose of this study is to make a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the available human heart anatomy videos on YouTube. Using the search engine of the platform we searched for relevant videos using various keywords. Videos with irrelevant content, animal tissue, non‐English language, no sound, duplicates, and physiology focused were excluded from further elaboration. The initial search retrieved 55,525 videos, whereas only 294 qualified for further analysis. A unique scoring system was used to assess the anatomical quality and details, general quality, and the general data for each video. Our results indicate that the human heart anatomy videos available on YouTube conveyed our anatomical criteria poorly, whereas the general quality scoring found borderline. Students should be selective when looking up on public video databases as it can prove challenging, time consuming, and the anatomical information may be misleading due to absence of content review. Anatomists and institutions are encouraged to prepare and endorse good quality material and make them available online for the students. The scoring rubric used in the study comprises a valuable tool to faculty members for quality evaluation of heart anatomy videos available on social media platforms. Anat Sci Educ. 7: 12–18. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.