Fournier Dale E, Groh Adam M R
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Physical Therapy), Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Anat Sci Educ. 2021 May;14(3):352-360. doi: 10.1002/ase.2011. Epub 2020 Sep 23.
Anatomy education continues to evolve in health professional programs as curricula shift to competency-based models and contact hours decrease. These changes in curricula may significantly alter the learning environment for students. Importantly, changes in learning environment have been shown to impact student learning strategies and well-being. It follows, then, that an investigation of students' perceptions of the learning environment is key to understand the impact of modern anatomy curriculum alterations. The current pilot study evaluated the impact of modifying examination format on the learning environment of physical therapy students participating in a human cadaveric anatomy course. Two study cohorts of first year (entry-level) physical therapy students were invited to complete a preliminary learning environment questionnaire with 13 visual analog scale items and four short answer items. One study cohort was tested with a viva (oral) practical examination, and the other, with a bell-ringer practical examination. Analysis of quantitative items revealed two significant findings: physical therapy students in the bell-ringer cohort found it was more difficult to prepare for their examination, and that they had inadequate time to respond to questions compared to the viva cohort. Analysis of qualitative items revealed distinct themes that concerned physical therapy student learning environment specific to cadaveric anatomy. These results demonstrate that examination format can influence the learning environment of physical therapy students studying cadaveric anatomy. As a result, care needs to be taken to ensure that modernized curricula align the examination format to the method of instruction and the future application of students' knowledge in clinical practice.
随着课程向基于能力的模式转变且授课时长减少，健康专业项目中的解剖学教育不断发展。课程的这些变化可能会显著改变学生的学习环境。重要的是，学习环境的变化已被证明会影响学生的学习策略和幸福感。因此，调查学生对学习环境的看法是理解现代解剖学课程变革影响的关键。当前的试点研究评估了改变考试形式对参加人体尸体解剖课程的物理治疗专业学生学习环境的影响。邀请了两个一年级（入门级）物理治疗专业学生的研究队列，让他们完成一份初步的学习环境问卷，问卷包含13个视觉模拟量表项目和4个简答题项目。一个研究队列进行了口试实践考试，另一个进行了突击实践考试。对定量项目的分析得出了两个重要发现：突击考试队列中的物理治疗专业学生发现准备考试更困难，而且与口试队列相比，他们没有足够的时间回答问题。对定性项目的分析揭示了与尸体解剖特有的物理治疗专业学生学习环境相关的不同主题。这些结果表明，考试形式会影响学习尸体解剖的物理治疗专业学生的学习环境。因此，需要注意确保现代化课程使考试形式与教学方法以及学生知识在临床实践中的未来应用保持一致。
