Implementing and integrating computer-based activities into a problem-based gross anatomy curriculum

✍ Scribed by Martin G. Levine; Jerome Stempak; Greg Conyers; Janice A. Walters

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 73 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0897-3806
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2353(1999)12:3<191::aid-ca8>3.0.co;2-5

✦ Synopsis

A problem-based learning curriculum in gross anatomy was begun for a limited number of students to address unsuccessful methodology inherent in a traditional instructional approach. To eliminate some concerns associated with the laboratory component, computer-based instruction and other computer-related activities were actively integrated into the total instructional process. Prosections, directions, quizzes, images, and grades were provided in lab at table-side computer workstations, in the library, and on the web. Results were assessed through questionnaires in which students rated their learning experience according to a Likert-type scale. Success was measured by quantitative improvements in student perception. In this three-year study, observations and measurements have suggested increasingly positive student attitudes toward educational technology, for networks as a faster and more effective method of student/faculty communication, and in the utilization of computer-based instruction for greater flexibility and efficiency in learning. This allowed a rethinking of the structure and content of the curriculum by the faculty, which permitted reduced laboratory time, more small-group activity, and less reliance on staff. Clin. Anat. 12:191-198, 1999.