Effectiveness of Supplementary Materials in Teaching the Veterinary Neurologic Examination

Abstract

Clinical neurology can be difficult for veterinary students to comprehend, and part of understanding the clinical aspect is performing a proper neurologic examination. In this study, first-year veterinary students in a Small Animal Physical Exam and Anatomy rotation were given supplemental learning activities to determine their effect on student procedural knowledge and motivation in performing a neurologic examination. Students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the first watched a video of a clinician performing the neurologic examination, the second read a handout about the neurologic exam, and the third was the control group, where students were not provided any supplemental activities. At the start and end of the rotation, students participated in a survey assessing their overall procedural knowledge and motivation to learn about the neurologic exam. No notable improvement occurred in overall student knowledge from the beginning to end of the rotation, nor when using supplemental material ( p > .05). However, there was a significant difference in quiz scores between the three condition groups ( p < .01), suggesting the type of learning activity did influence student learning. Additionally, students in the video and reading groups showed a significant increase in motivational scores compared with those in the control group ( p < .05), demonstrating providing supplemental learning activities do improve student motivation in learning about the neurologic examination. This study provides evidence that while supplemental materials may not immediately help veterinary students learn to perform the neurologic examination, they do have a positive impact on students’ learning motivation.

Teacher’s Facilitating Strategies in Conducting Science Investigatory Project

“…When used appropriately, they can help motivate, engage, and support students as they make their way through other course elements. Additionally, supplemental materials can provide teachers with a way to fill in perceived gaps within the prescribed instructional materials and offer teachers different approaches to motivating students (Foss et al, 2022;Marple et al, 2017;Walan, 2020). Complementary supplemental learning materials can also aid teachers in meeting the diverse needs of all learners (Zhang, 2021).…”

Distance Education in Veterinary Medicine: History, Current Situation, and Future Perspectives (a Systematic Review)

“…There are multiple delivery modalities for DE in VM that are synchronous events i.e., videoconferencing to offer what is commonly known as webinar. There can be asynchronous events where videos are recorded and made available so the student can access them whenever and as often as desired (MÜLLER et al, 2019;FOSS et al, 2021;REINHARD;POWELL;WATSON, 2021). For example, MacKay et al (2021) reported the usage of recorded lectures as a study aid for veterinary students with positive outcomes.…”

“…Social media has also been used as a DE tool and delivery method, allowing to share educational material, study cases discussion and interaction between students and faculty. CALSAMIGLIA et al, 2020;SAWRAS et al, 2020;FOSS et al, 2021).…”

“…The use of complementary study materials delivered via online has been reported as improving the veterinary students' outcomes when comparing to traditional methods as face-to-face lectures, textbook's study, and others (DUIJVESTIJN et al, 2021;FOSS et al, 2021;MCMICHAEL et al, 2021;NAVAS DE SOLIS et al, 2021;PILLAI, 2021;PUTRA et al, 2021;REINHARD;POWELL;WATSON, 2021).…”

The Application of 3D Anatomy for Teaching Veterinary Clinical Neurology

“…Neuroanatomy is a very challenging topic for veterinary students, as the main goal is to associate gross anatomy with neurologic functions and, as a second step, to be able to localize neural lesions in the case of neurologic disease [2,3]. In this sense, the teaching of anatomy has evolved to the point of using different innovative methods oriented towards clinical practice [4,5].…”