Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Center for Innovation in Medical Education, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Anat Sci Educ. 2020 May;13(3):333-342. doi: 10.1002/ase.1913. Epub 2019 Jul 24.
Visual-spatial abilities are considered a successful predictor in anatomy learning. Previous research suggest that visual-spatial abilities can be trained, and the magnitude of improvement can be affected by initial levels of spatial skills. This case-control study aimed to evaluate (1) the impact of an extra-curricular anatomy dissection course on visual-spatial abilities of medical undergraduates and (2) the magnitude of improvement in students with initially lower levels of visual-spatial abilities, and (3) whether the choice for the course was related to visual-spatial abilities. Course participants (n = 45) and controls (n = 65) were first and second-year medical undergraduates who performed a Mental Rotations Test (MRT) before and 10 weeks after the course. At baseline, there was no significant difference in MRT scores between course participants and controls. At the end of the course, participants achieved a greater improvement than controls (first-year: ∆6.0 ± 4.1 vs. ∆4.9 ± 3.2; ANCOVA, P = 0.019, Cohen's d = 0.41; second-year: ∆6.5 ± 3.3 vs. ∆6.1 ± 4.0; P = 0.03, Cohen's d = 0.11). Individuals with initially lower scores on the MRT pretest showed the largest improvement (∆8.4 ± 2.3 vs. ∆6.8 ± 2.8; P = 0.011, Cohen's d = 0.61). In summary, (1) an anatomy dissection course improved visual-spatial abilities of medical undergraduates; (2) a substantial improvement was observed in individuals with initially lower scores on the visual-spatial abilities test indicating a different trajectory of improvement; (3) students' preferences for attending extracurricular anatomy dissection course was not driven by visual-spatial abilities.
视觉空间能力被认为是解剖学学习的成功预测因素。先前的研究表明，视觉空间能力可以通过训练得到提高，并且提高的幅度可以受到空间技能初始水平的影响。本病例对照研究旨在评估：（1）课外解剖解剖课程对医学生视觉空间能力的影响；（2）视觉空间能力初始水平较低的学生的提高幅度；以及（3）课程选择是否与视觉空间能力相关。课程参与者（n=45）和对照组（n=65）是医学生的一、二年级学生，他们在课程前后进行了心理旋转测试（MRT）。在基线时，课程参与者和对照组之间的 MRT 评分没有显著差异。在课程结束时，参与者的提高幅度大于对照组（一年级：∆6.0±4.1 与 ∆4.9±3.2；ANCOVA，P=0.019，Cohen's d=0.41；二年级：∆6.5±3.3 与 ∆6.1±4.0；P=0.03，Cohen's d=0.11）。MRT 预测试初始得分较低的个体表现出最大的提高（∆8.4±2.3 与 ∆6.8±2.8；P=0.011，Cohen's d=0.61）。总之，（1）解剖解剖课程提高了医学生的视觉空间能力；（2）在视觉空间能力测试初始得分较低的个体中观察到了实质性的提高，表明了不同的提高轨迹；（3）学生对参加课外解剖解剖课程的偏好不是由视觉空间能力驱动的。
