TY - JOUR
AU - Stone, Danya
AU - Longhurst, Georga J.
AU - Dulohery, Kate
AU - Campbell, Thomas
AU - Richards, Annalise
AU - O'Brien, Dominic
AU - Franchi, Thomas
AU - Hall, Samuel
AU - Border, Scott
PY - 2022
DA - September
TI - A multicentre analysis of approaches to learning and student experiences of learning anatomy online
JO - Medical Science Educator
EP - 1130
VL - 32
DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-022-01633-7
AB - Introduction: The approaches to learning students adopt when learning anatomy online could yield important lessons for educators. Dissection room teaching can encourage students to adopt a deep approach to learning anatomy. It was therefore hypothesized that the proportion of students adopting a deep approach to learning would be lower in a population learning anatomy online. This research aims to investigate the experiences of students learning anatomy online during the COVID-19 pandemic and the approaches to learning they adopted. Methods: A survey was distributed to medical students at 7 universities across the UK and Ireland. The survey included two previously validated questionnaires: Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students and Anatomy Learning Experience Questionnaire. Results: The analysis included 224 unique student responses. Students’ approach to learning mirrored reports from previous studies conducted during face-to-face tuition with 44.3% adopting deep, 40.7% strategic, 11.4% surface, and 3.6% combined learning approaches. The university (p = 0.019) and changes to formative (p = 0.016) and summative (p = 0.009) assessments significantly impacted approach to learning. Students reported that online resources were effective but highlighted the need for clearer guidance on how to find and use them successfully. Conclusion: It is important to highlight that students value in-person opportunities to learn from human cadaveric material and hence dissection room sessions should remain at the forefront of anatomical education. It is recommended that future online and/or blended provisions of anatomy teaching include varied resources that maximize engagement with media featuring cadaveric specimens.
PB - Springer Nature
UR - https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/282024/
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Education
ER