Virtual microscopy system at Chinese medical university: an assisted teaching platform for promoting active learning and problem-solving skills

Abstract

BackgroundChinese medical universities typically have a high number of students, a shortage of teachers and limited equipment, and as such histology courses have been taught using traditional lecture-based formats, with textbooks and conventional microscopy. This method, however, has reduced creativity and problem-solving skills training in the curriculum. The virtual microscope (VM) system has been shown to be an effective and efficient educational strategy. The present study aims to describe a VM system for undergraduates and to evaluate the effects of promoting active learning and problem-solving skills.MethodsTwo hundred and twenty-nine second-year undergraduate students in the Third Military Medical University were divided into two groups. The VM group contained 115 students and was taught using the VM system. The light microscope (LM) group consisted of 114 students and was taught using the LM system. Post-teaching performances were assessed by multiple-choice questions, short essay questions, case analysis questions and the identification of structure of tissue. Students’ teaching preferences and satisfaction were assessed using questionnaires.ResultsTest scores in the VM group showed a significant improvement compared with those in the LM group (p < 0.05). There were no substantial differences between the two groups in the mean score rate of multiple-choice questions and the short essay category (p > 0.05); however, there were notable differences in the mean score rate of case analysis questions and identification of structure of tissue (p < 0.05). The questionnaire results indicate that the VM system improves students’ productivity and promotes learning efficiency. Furthermore, students reported other positive effects of the VM system in terms of additional learning resources, critical thinking, ease of communication and confidence.ConclusionsThe VM system is an effective tool at Chinese medical university to promote undergraduates’ active learning and problem-solving skills as an assisted teaching platform.

Learning pathology using collaborative vs. individual annotation of whole slide images: a mixed methods trial

“…These aspects are consistent with previous studies of students’ learning preferences, that is by interacting and engaging with learning materials in a social environment [5, 6, 16, 19, 37–40, 52]. …”

“…This finding was expected as collaborative WSI annotation was designed to increase student engagement, which is positively correlated with perceptions of improved understanding [3–5, 7, 8, 12, 38, 41, 47, 48]. …”

“…These activities were designed to provide visual cues to assist students’ understanding of the microscopic features of disease processes. Such visual cues trigger the interpretive process, resulting in improved pattern recognition, student performance, productivity and efficiency on diagnostic tasks [5, 38, 41]. …”

“…To enable this approach, WSIs are typically served via the Internet and viewed with a web browser. An important advantage of VM is that it allows access to WSIs outside of scheduled class times [1–5]. It has been demonstrated that students access VM materials throughout the day [6].…”

“…Students also provided positive feedback regarding the ‘opportunity to collaborate’ when utilising VM [5, 6, 16, 19, 37–40]. However, one of the rare studies that described collaborative annotations on WSI [6], while demonstrating enhanced engagement by students, did not show any improvement in learning outcomes.…”