Online anatomy education during the Covid‐19 pandemic: Opinions of medical, speech therapy, andBScAnatomy students

Abstract

With the emergence of the Covid‐19 pandemic in 2020, it was difficult to predict if the “cadaveric‐based (golden) standard” of teaching anatomy would be possible in the unforeseeable future. This forced traditional anatomical teaching and learning practices to be transitioned to remote online platforms. This study explored the opinions of anatomy students (n = 51), on their online learning experience of anatomy during the Covid‐19 pandemic. A mixed methods approach using a descriptive, exploratory study design was conducted, by use of an online survey. The survey consisted of a six‐point Likert scale and was assembled into four sub‐categories. Likert scale options ranged from; strongly disagree, to strongly agree, and not applicable. Results obtained seem to tally with expectations, indicating an adequate theoretical course component with room to improve practical online teaching. Most participants had a positive perception of the theoretical course content, duration, and platforms of communication. Virtual classes were simple to navigate with few technical difficulties experienced by the participants. Students also noted having access to sufficient study material, videos, and additional online material. Overall, more than half of all participants reported adapting well to the remote learning environment, however, the greatest challenge experienced highlighted a sense of deprivation from the lack of cadaver exposure and hands‐on instruction. This research highlighted the effects of the pandemic on the modality of anatomy education and how it affected students. Although anatomy is multi‐modal, it can be concluded that it is possible to achieve academic success by using online learning methods.

A comparison of pre‐ and post‐clinical education learning preferences among medical students who elected to dissect compared to those who did not during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…A prominent result was that the majority of students agreed that anatomical dissection is an important and valued aspect of their overall medical education, and this opinion is consistent with other reports (Bohl & Gest, 2011;Dissabandara et al, 2015;Jeyakumar et al, 2020;Khan et al, 2023). This finding was further substantiated by the second-largest number of positive responses concerning anatomy instruction in Part 1 of the thematic analysis.…”

“…However, "NoLaboratories" ranked last among the preferred learning methods for both Preclinical and Post-clinical cohorts indicating that students prefer some type of laboratory experience Khan et al (2023). discovered that 74% of the students expressed a sense of disadvantage due to their inability to directly engage with the practical component when investigating perspectives of anatomy students regarding online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.Students preferred to have an instructor in the laboratory at the time of dissection even though the dissection-elective students were significantly more inclined.…”

The effects of video‐driven discussions integrated into the flipped classroom model on learning achievement, practical performance, and higher‐order thinking skills in dental education

“…Moreover, the related research includes a few studies on the integration of different technological approaches like FC enhanced with some other tools into restorative dentistry instruction as well as its impact on HOTS and practical learning outcomes. Unlike traditional teaching, it reverses lecture activities and homework FC is a pedagogical form that combines online learning (OL) and faceto-face (F2F) instruction (Khan et al, 2023), has gained popularity in different fields of dentistry components of a course teaching (Chen et al, 2018;Kerkstra et al, 2022). Although Lage et al (2000) were historically the first scholars to apply FC (as an inverted classroom) in the economy course, its conceptualization is based on Bergmann and Sams's (2012) initiatives.…”