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How Computer-Assisted Learning Influences Medical Students' Performance in Anatomy Courses |
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| Authors: | Raquel Sofia Santos Ana Cristina Carvalho Stanislav Tsisar Ana Raquel Bastos Diogo Ferreira Maria Amélia Ferreira Ana Povo Bruno Guimarães |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Public Health, Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal;2. Department of Public Health, Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Formal analysis (equal), ?Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Resources (equal), Visualization (equal), Writing - original draft (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal);3. Department of Public Health, Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), ?Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Resources (equal), Visualization (equal), Writing - original draft (equal);4. Department of Public Health, Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Contribution: ?Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Resources (equal), Visualization (equal), Writing - original draft (supporting);5. Department of Surgery and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Cardiovascular Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Contribution: ?Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Resources (equal), Visualization (equal), Writing - original draft (equal);6. Department of Public Health, Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Cardiovascular Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Formal analysis (equal), ?Investigation (equal), Validation (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal);7. Department of Surgery, Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Department of Ambulatory General Surgery, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, Porto, Portugal Contribution: ?Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Resources (equal), Writing - review & editing (supporting) |
| Abstract: | Anatomy is an essential subject of the medical curriculum. Despite its relevance, the curricular time and logistical resources devoted to teaching anatomy are in decline, favoring the introduction of new pedagogical approaches based on computer-assisted learning (CAL). This new pedagogical approach provides an insight into students' learning profiles and features, which are correlated with knowledge acquisition. The aim of this study was to understand how training with CAL platforms can influence medical students' anatomy performance. A total of 611 medical students attending Musculoskeletal Anatomy (MA) and Cardiovascular Anatomy (CA) courses were allocated to one of three groups (MA Group, CA Group, and MA + CA Group). An association between the performance in these anatomy courses and the number of CAL training sessions was detected. In the MA Group (r = 0.761, P < 0.001) and the MA + CA Group (r = 0.786, P < 0.001), a large positive correlation was observed between musculoskeletal anatomy performance and the number of CAL training sessions. Similarly, in the CA Group (r = 0.670, P < 0.001) and the MA + CA Group (r = 0.772, P < 0.001), a large positive correlation was observed between cardiovascular anatomy performance and the number of CAL training sessions. Multiple linear regression models were performed, considering either musculoskeletal or cardiovascular anatomy performance as the dependent variable. The results suggest that using CAL platforms to study has a positive dose-dependent effect on anatomy performance. Understanding students' individual features and academic background may contribute to the optimization of the learning process. |
| Keywords: | gross anatomy education medical education undergraduate education learning profiles anatomy academic performance computer-assisted learning computer-assisted training learning analytics |