Effects of image‐based and text‐based active learning exercises on student examination performance in a musculoskeletal anatomy course |
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| Authors: | M Melissa Gross Mary C Wright Olivia S Anderson |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Movement Science, School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan;2. Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island;3. Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan |
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| Abstract: | Research on the benefits of visual learning has relied primarily on lecture‐based pedagogy, but the potential benefits of combining active learning strategies with visual and verbal materials on learning anatomy has not yet been explored. In this study, the differential effects of text‐based and image‐based active learning exercises on examination performance were investigated in a functional anatomy course. Each class session was punctuated with an average of 12 text‐based and image‐based active learning exercises. Participation data from 231 students were compared with their examination performance on 262 questions associated with the in‐class exercises. Students also rated the helpfulness and difficulty of the in‐class exercises on a survey. Participation in the active learning exercises was positively correlated with examination performance (r = 0.63, P < 0.001). When controlling for other key demographics (gender, underrepresented minority status) and prior grade point average, participation in the image‐based exercises was significantly correlated with performance on examination questions associated with image‐based exercises (P < 0.001) and text‐based exercises (P < 0.01), while participation in text‐based exercises was not. Additionally, students reported that the active learning exercises were helpful for seeing images of key ideas (94%) and clarifying key course concepts (80%), and that the image‐based exercises were significantly less demanding, less hard and required less effort than text‐based exercises (P < 0.05). The findings confirm the positive effect of using images and active learning strategies on student learning, and suggest that integrating them may be especially beneficial for learning anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 10: 444–455. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists. |
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| Keywords: | gross anatomy education musculoskeletal anatomy undergraduate education kinesiology education active learning visual learning image‐based learning text‐based learning functional anatomy effectiveness of anatomy education |
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