Studying Anatomy through a Problem-Based Learning Approach

Abstract

Introduction: The problem-based learning is a pedagogical method that seeks to optimize the acquisition of knowledge by taking into account, in particular, principles derived from acquired knowledge in cognitive psychology. We wanted to assess feelings of our students about this approach in anatomy. Materials and methods:Eighty-three undergraduate students took part in the survey. Various activities to introduce problem-based learning in anatomy included lectures, workshops, and demonstrations of mannequins and other composite parts. For each problem, students were divided into small groups to facilitate the use of knowledge gained in anatomy, the discussion and the reasoning. They had time to manage and were evaluated at the end of this learning. An opinion questionnaire was then given to the students to obtain their opinion concerning this teaching method. Students' degree of agreement was measured according to the Likert scale. Results:The behavior of students during this problem-based approach has been very positive in anatomy. For 92% of them, the approach based on problem-based learning in anatomy is a stimulating and intuitive method, even if conventional teaching (lectures) remains unavoidable. Conclusion:The pedagogical experience that we report for a fundamental discipline is limited. However, it testifies to the good receptivity of students in anatomy for the problem-based learning. clinical cases in small groups of students.1 Students take an active role in their learning. Problem-based learning focuses more on the understanding of the clinical case presented than on blind reproduction and memorization. This innovative approach allows better understanding and memorization of facts and principles. In the case of the problem-based learning, teachers have a fundamentally different role, consisting more in listening to and guiding the group's work than in speaking and distributing pedagogical information.The PBL method can be used to introduce students to the pedagogical basics, learning strategies and therapeutic principles during their medical studies. This new way of teaching initiated a small revolution in the medical training community, and has spread around the world. However, this method has been adopted in various ways. Some medical schools have completely changed their curriculum to the profile of problem-based learning. 3 Other schools (such as Saint-Louis Faculty of medicine) have partially integrated problem-based learning into their conventional teaching. 4,5 Despite many studies showing the benefits of problem-based learning, 6 there is still debate about whether problem-based learning can effectively replace traditional pedagogy.1 In Saint-Louis we think that it should not replace conventional teaching, but rather complete it. Anatomy remains one of the most impenetrable disciplines in the introduction of problem-based learning.In practice, students review anatomy in small clinical case discussion groups. The clinical cases are presented in each group, followed by a discussion. Gro...

Neuroanatomy in virtual reality: Development and pedagogical evaluation of photogrammetry‐based 3D brain models

“…The use of VR in anatomy has been accelerated over the past decade as part of world‐wide educational trends of self‐guided and problem‐based learning (Nyemb, 2017). It has been reported to advance learning of the forearm musculoskeletal anatomy (Codd & Choudhury, 2011), the cardiac system (Maresky et al., 2019), the anatomy of the female pelvic floor (Ellington et al., 2019), and the middle ear structures (Ng et al., 2015), among many others.…”