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Interplays of psychometric abilities on learning gross anatomy
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 07:49 authored by Claire SmithClaire Smith, Camilla Stokholm, Reetu Sinha, Fiona Ponikwer, Madeline Carter, Maria BirchIn recent years, there has been international debate concerning how students learn anatomy. The rapid increase in scientific knowledge has put pressure on the place of anatomy within the medical and allied health professional curricula, as well as the design and structure of anatomy courses. In this regard, relatively little is known about what medical and allied health professions students want from an anatomy course or how they learn it. To assess students’ learning approaches and perceptions of anatomy, a series of psychometric tests were administered to Medical (n=82), Podiatry (n=21), and Pharmacy (n=74) students in the United Kingdom. Analysis of the Anatomy Learning Experience (ALE) questionnaire revealed a predominantly positive attitude towards anatomy and the dissection room, with most valuing cadaveric dissection and not regarding it as a daunting environment. Further to this, analysis of the Approaches to Studying Inventory for Students (ASSIST) revealed predominant preferences for strategic and deep approaches. Personality traits were associated with certain learning approaches; neuroticism with surface (p=0.038), conscientiousness with both a deep and strategic approach (p=0.000 and p=0.060 respectively). Certain personality traits were also found to be associated with anatomy experience e.g. neuroticism and achievement striving felt the most effective way to learn was to get their hands in and feel for structures (p=0.044 and p=0.012 respectively). This study concludes that undergraduate students of medicine, podiatry and pharmacy learn anatomy in slightly different ways. Preparation for classroom activities should centre on the promotion of an optimum learning environment and teaching strategies which promote a deep approach to learning. Understanding students’ personality and learning experiences should help teachers improve the students’ learning of anatomy for effective application to clinical practice.
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- Published
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- Published version
Journal
MedEdPublishISSN
2312–7996Publisher
Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE)External DOI
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2Volume
6Page range
42Department affiliated with
- Division of Medical Education Publications
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- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2017-09-07First Open Access (FOA) Date
2017-09-07First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-09-06Usage metrics
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