Journal article
Dissection and dissection-associated required experiences improve student performance in gross anatomy: Differences among quartiles
Anatomical sciences education, Vol.9(3), pp.238-246
05/06/2016
DOI: 10.1002/ase.1574
PMID: 26536279
Abstract
To promote student learning, educational strategies should provide multiple levels of engagement with the subject matter. This study investigated examination data from five first year medical gross anatomy class cohorts (692 students) to determine if enhanced student performance was correlated with learning through dissection in a course that used a rotating dissection schedule coupled with peer teaching and other associated experiences. When students performed two of five weekly dissections for a given unit, their average scores on both laboratory and written examinations tended to increase as compared to when they had completed only one week of dissection (P < 0.01). However, these performance gains differed across the class strata and were related to the amount of dissection completed. Students in the upper quartile (UQS) of the class benefited when they had dissected once (92.8%) or twice (92.4%), and these scores were significantly higher than those attained when learning from peers (90.3%, P < 0.01). Students in the lower quartile (LQS) benefited most from the dissection experiences, where practical examination performance was better (77.8% and 80.5%) than when these students learned material from their peers (73.7%, P < 0.01). Although UQS benefited from dissection, LQS benefited to a greater extent in both the practical and written examinations with dissection. Although limited, these data suggest that dissection, coupled with associated educational activities, is an effective pedagogical strategy for learning. Further investigation is required to evaluate the concomitant benefits of peer teaching that are associated with the dissection experience. Anat Sci Educ 9: 238-246. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Dissection and dissection-associated required experiences improve student performance in gross anatomy: Differences among quartiles
- Creators
- Marc A Pizzimenti - Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaNicholas Pantazis - Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaAlexander Sandra - Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaDarren S Hoffmann - Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaSusan Lenoch - The Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaKristi J Ferguson - Department of Internal Medicine, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Anatomical sciences education, Vol.9(3), pp.238-246
- Publisher
- United States
- DOI
- 10.1002/ase.1574
- PMID
- 26536279
- ISSN
- 1935-9772
- eISSN
- 1935-9780
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 05/06/2016
- Academic Unit
- Oral Pathology, Radiology and Medicine; Anatomy and Cell Biology; General Internal Medicine; Health and Human Physiology; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984025351502771
Metrics
39 Record Views