Peer‐directed Small Group Learning in M1 Gross Anatomy: Enhancing Student Learning While Reducing Required Contact Hours

Abstract

PURPOSEMany medical schools have adopted a shortened basic science curriculum in favor of a longer clinical curriculum. In an attempt to reduce required contact hours without compromising important high‐yield content, programs have developed and implemented specific learner‐centered teaching strategies We sought to utilize peer‐directed small‐group sessions to enhance student learning in anatomy within a condensed pre‐clinical curriculum . Sessions were designed to guide learners through specific cadaveric prosections.METHODSThree voluntary small‐group sessions were designed to correlate with spinal cord, facial nerve/orbit, and ischioanal fossa prosections in a Medical Gross Anatomy course for first‐year medical students. There was no penalty or reward for attending these sessions, and the prosections were made available to all students, regardless of participation. A short survey was administered after each session. This survey assessed students perceived comfort level with the content area before and after the small‐group session. Student performance on specific test questions related to sessions topics was analyzed and compared between those who attended the small group sessions, and those who did not to determine patterns of performance on the specific topics.RESULTSThere was an increase in the student perceived level of comfort with the material after each of the three small group sessions for both the 2017 and 2018 M1 classes. On a 1‐to‐5 Likert scale (1 lowest; 5 highest) of perceived comfort level with session content, averages before the three small group sessions were significantly increased for each small group session for both years. Analysis of changes in student performance regarding test performance resulted in a slight increase in performance on most questions for those who attended the small groups compared to those who did not. Word cloud analysis of the write‐in portion of the survey revealed several common themes that students thought the small group setting was a strength, and having the facilitator ask more questions of the participants, being a common area for improvement.CONCLUSIONThis work supports peer‐directed and small group learning as an effective avenue for student success in M1 Gross Anatomy. Further analysis of student performance and future studies will help determine whether this could be an effective teaching strategy utilized by other courses during the basic science years.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.