Enhancing Anatomical Instruction: Impact of a Virtual Canine Anatomy Program on Student Outcomes

Abstract

Innovative reforms in medical education will require instructional tools to support these changes and to give students more flexibility in where and how they learn. At Colorado State University, the software program Virtual Canine Anatomy (VCA) was developed to assist student learning both inside and outside the anatomical laboratory. The program includes interactive anatomical photographs of dissected canine cadavers, dissection instructions with accompanying videos and diagrams, radiographs, and three‐dimensional models. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional tools like VCA so that decisions on pedagogical delivery can be evidence‐based. To measure the impact of VCA on student outcomes in a dissection laboratory, this study compared student attitudes, quiz scores, dissection quality and accuracy, and instructor reliance between students with and without access to VCA. Students with VCA needed less time with teaching assistants (P < 0.01), asked teaching assistants fewer questions (P = 0.04), felt that the dissection was easier (P = 0.02), and were in stronger agreement that they had access to adequate resources (P = 0.02). No differences were found in the dissection quality or accuracy, quiz scores, or attitudes regarding overall enjoyment of the activity between the two groups. This study shows that VCA increases student independence and can be used to enhance anatomical instruction.

How Virtual Animal Anatomy facilitated a successful transition to online instruction and supported student learning during the coronavirus pandemic

“…Assessing which resources, strategies and interventions are helpful to students can be challenging for instructors in a large course. The VAA has been repeatedly demonstrated to supplement student learning in the face‐to‐face environment (Garrett et al, 2019; Linton et al, 2005, 2021; Magee et al, 2015), and this study demonstrates that the VAA supports online anatomy learning as well. The VAA user analytics from 2018 and 2019 demonstrate that VAA use supports student success and that it can be used to identify students who are not yet engaging with the course resources in the online environment.…”

“…Early perceptions of these sessions were that small group learning with no more than two to three students per TA was better for Linton et al, 2005Linton et al, , 2021Magee et al, 2015), and this study demonstrates that the VAA supports online anatomy learning as well. The VAA user analytics from 2018 and 2019 demonstrate that VAA use supports student success and that it can be used to identify students who are not yet engaging with the course resources in the online environment.…”

“…This software suite includes the Virtual Canine Anatomy (VCA) program and is a cadaver-based atlas with additional equine, feline and bovine anatomical content. While there is strong evidence that VCA and other CAL software can enhance in-person anatomy learning (Durosaro et al, 2008;Garrett et al, 2019;Linton et al, 2005Linton et al, , 2021Magee et al, 2015;Tam et al, 2010) by increasing student excitement and assessment outcomes (Yang et al, 2020), before March 2020, the VAA had never been evaluated as a replacement for cadaveric learning. The anatomical specimens within the VAA are professionally dissected and photorealistic that, combined with the ability to manipulate and rotate the virtual anatomical specimens, provides VAA users with a virtual laboratory experience.…”

Anxiety, emotions, and thoughts of veterinary medicine students during their first visit to the dissection room

“…4 Although dissection has been the traditional method of studying veterinary anatomy, alternative methods have been developed in recent decades, from organ plastination to the design of 3D organs or augmented reality models and virtual teaching. 5 Moreover, universities are making important efforts to reduce the number of animals in practicals, and alternative methods have been developed that aim to replace or complement the use of animals and carcasses in practicals. 6 More recently, COVID-19 has increased the development of multimedia tools to solve the pandemic-related restrictions in the best possible way.…”

Rotation of 3D Anatomy Models Is Associated with Underperformance of Students with Low Visual-Spatial Abilities: A Two-Center Randomized Crossover Trial

“…With continuously increasing computer power, which is easily accessible using home devices and so also for education purposes, the use of digital (anatomy) models has become increasingly feasible [20]. Nowadays, digital models are three-dimensional (3D), and can be visualized and manipulated from a computer/tablet/cell phone screen or through head-mounted devices [20][21][22]. Although these models offer an animal-free solution for the interactive perception of spatial anatomy, are they sufficient to train, e.g., surgeons to perform a complex procedure on a live animal or human?…”