(632.37) Use of Labeled Prosections for Self-Guided Learning in Head & Neck Anatomy: Comparison to Traditional Instructional Approaches

Poster Board Number: C51
Introduction: AAA has separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – 10:15 am – 11:15 am
Even poster #s – 11:15 am – 12:15 pm

David Mears (Uniformed Services University School of Medicine)

Aim
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-guided learning approach for head and neck anatomy using faculty-prepared, labeled cadaveric prosections.

Introduction
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person group learning activities were suspended for public health reasons, medical schools worldwide were forced to develop innovative ways to teach anatomy without traditional student-led dissections. One approach that we implemented for head and neck anatomy at USU was to display faculty-prepared, fully-labeled prosections in the anatomy lab, and allow students to come in individually to learn from them. This self-guided approach was positively received by students as a COVID-19 contingency (spring 2020), so we decided to use a modified version of this strategy for some of the head and neck anatomy labs even after the local pandemic conditions had allowed in-person dissection to resume (spring 2021).  In this study, we quantitatively compared learning outcomes from self-guided learning, with outcomes from two traditional instructional methods: student-led dissection and faculty-guided prosection demonstration.

Approach/Methods
For the 2021 Head and Neck Anatomy block, six cadaver laboratories were taught by traditional dissection (teams of four students with faculty preceptors present) and six were taught using labeled prosections. The prosections were put on display along with a detailed key to guide the students’ learning of the structures and key relationships. For the lab session, students in groups of four were assigned times to view the displays (5 minutes per specimen), with faculty on hand to answer questions. After the session, specimens were made available 24/7 for students’ independent review. Student performance on practical exam questions was compared for labs taught with labeled prosections versus the same labs taught by traditional dissection or faculty-guided prosection demonstration from a prior year of the course (2019), using ANOVA and student’s t-tests.

Results
Learner satisfaction with the self-guided prosections was high, with 87% of students reporting that they found this instructional method to be helpful for learning anatomy. There were no significant differences in student exam performance for labs taught via labeled prosections compared to traditional dissection or faculty-guided prosection demonstration.

Discussion
We found that self-guided learning from labeled prosections was an effective, well-received instructional method for head and neck anatomy. Implementing this approach for 6 of the 12 laboratory sessions in the Head and Neck Anatomy block resulted in a 25% decrease in curricular contact hours, and a 33% decrease in faculty time required to staff the laboratory sessions, with no detriment to learning outcomes. This approach could easily be extended to other aspects of the Gross Anatomy curriculum.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Uniformed Services University or the Department of Defense. The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.