Student-focused virtual histology education: Do new scenarios and digital technology matter?

Abstract

Innovative changes have become a critical part of teaching when resources are limited. In this study, we examined whether the studentoriented teaching method, when powered by virtual microscopy, improves histology learning compared to traditional microscope-based studies. Anonymous and voluntary post-course surveys were administered to students and essays were processed for content analysis. Google Analytics was used to obtain accurate Internet usage monitoring for WEBMICROSCOPE®. Using SPSS statistics, the examination scores for 2016 were compared to those of previous year, when the course was taught with a traditional-microscope-based model. The results demonstrated that the new teaching scenario was an effective tool, based on the mean examination scores in 2016 compared to the identical groups in 2015. The survey analysis showed that the students benefited more from using WEBMICROSCOPE® and that they frequently gained access to the Web server when they were not in class. The new scenario helped clarify the concept of histology for most of the students and was generally appreciated during teamwork-based histology classes. Students perceived that the use of the digital technology significantly influenced their confidence in learning the fundamentals of histology. In addition, changing to the new teaching scenario powered by WEBMICROSCOPE® improved the students' motivation to participate in discussions and better understand the concept of Histology between the 2015 and 2016 academic years. Finally, these changes all had a positive impact on the students' attention and satisfaction.

As you sow, so shall you reap: Is there a “golden standard” to teach histology?

“…Academic gains seen in this study were consistent with knowledge building on Bloom's Taxonomy (Thomas and Storr, 2015). Gains at the knowledge level were the type of gains seen in Felszeghy et al's study (Felszeghy et al, 2017). In a different study, Benedict et al (2013) demonstrated students overwhelmingly supported self-directed learning (Benedict, Schonder and McGee, 2013).…”

“…A new, more effective and thought-evoking teaching program to medical and dental students was adopted in the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland in 2016. According to our study, histology learning and participation improved compared to traditional microscope-based teaching when virtual microscopy was combined with a student-centered approach (Felszeghy et al 2017). The following salient points from this article promote student engagement and learning: student centered learning, collaborative learning, peer-to-peer learning and peer-to-peer teaching (Felszeghy et al 2019).…”

“…Dr. Ronald M Harden points out the online method used by Felszeghy et al (2017) is a method promoting studentcentered learning (Felszeghy et al, 2017;Felszeghy et al, 2019). The advantages of this have been previously noted and it has been successfully applied in a virtual environment and the majority of students exposed to this methodology excelled on the final exam (Kukolja-Taradi et al, 2008).…”

“…Benedict et al concluded that using virtual learning to replace lectures aligns with several accreditation standards and educational outcomes in terms of health science education, expecting their programs to promote opportunities to develop lifelong learning skills and provide opportunities for students to transition from dependent to active, self-directed learners (Medina et al, 2013). In short, Felszeghy et al histology teaching method further demonstrated the effectiveness of self-directed learning (Felszeghy et al, 2017).…”

“…Lastly, Jennings and Wan noted the virtual learning method used in Felszeghy et al (2017) also promotes student engagement. In a study by Hussain et al researchers found when virtual learning was used, student engagement correlated positively with assessment scores (Hussain et al, 2018).…”