Na Youjin, Clary Derek W, Rose-Reneau Zakary B, Segars Larry, Hanson Andrea, Brauer Philip, Wright Barth W, Keim Sarah A
College of Medicine, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Kansas City, Missouri.
Department of Anatomy, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, Missouri.
Anat Sci Educ. 2022 May;15(3):587-598. doi: 10.1002/ase.2080. Epub 2021 Sep 3.
Spatial visualization, the ability to mentally rotate three-dimensional (3D) images, plays a significant role in anatomy education. This study examines the impact of technical drawing exercises on the improvement of spatial visualization and anatomy education in a Neuroscience course. First-year medical students (n = 84) were randomly allocated into a control group (n = 41) or art-training group (n = 43). Variables including self-reported artistic drawing ability, previous technical drawing experience, or previous anatomy laboratory exposure were gathered. Participants who self-identified as artistic individuals were equally distributed between the two groups. Students in the art-training group attended four 1-hour sessions to solve technical drawing worksheets. All participants completed two Mental Rotations Tests (MRT), which were used to assess spatial visualization. Data were also collected from two neuroscience written examinations and an anatomical "tag test" practical examination. Participants in the art-training and control groups improved on the MRT. The mean of written examination two was significantly higher (P = 0.007) in the art-training group (12.95) than the control group (11.48), and higher (P = 0.027) in those without technical drawing experience (12.44) than those with (11.00). The mean of the anatomical practical was significantly higher (P = 0.010) in those without artistic ability (46.24) than those with (42.00). These results suggest that completing technical drawing worksheets may aid in solving anatomy-based written examination questions on complex brain regions, but further research is needed to determine its implication on anatomy practical scores. These results propose a simple method of improving spatial visualization in anatomy education.
空间可视化，即 mentally rotate 三维（3D）图像的能力，在解剖学教育中起着重要作用。本研究考察了技术绘图练习对神经科学课程中空间可视化改善及解剖学教育的影响。一年级医学生（n = 84）被随机分为对照组（n = 41）或艺术训练组（n = 43）。收集了包括自我报告的艺术绘图能力、先前的技术绘图经验或先前的解剖实验室接触情况等变量。自我认定为有艺术天赋的参与者在两组中平均分布。艺术训练组的学生参加了四次1小时的课程来解答技术绘图工作表。所有参与者完成了两项心理旋转测试（MRT），用于评估空间可视化。还从两次神经科学笔试和一次解剖“标签测试”实践考试中收集了数据。艺术训练组和对照组的参与者在MRT上都有进步。艺术训练组（12.95）笔试二的平均分显著高于对照组（11.48）（P = 0.007），且没有技术绘图经验的参与者（12.44）高于有技术绘图经验的参与者（11.00）（P = 0.027）。没有艺术能力的参与者解剖实践的平均分（46.24）显著高于有艺术能力的参与者（42.00）（P = 0.010）。这些结果表明，完成技术绘图工作表可能有助于解答基于复杂脑区解剖学的笔试问题，但需要进一步研究以确定其对解剖实践成绩的影响。这些结果提出了一种在解剖学教育中改善空间可视化的简单方法。
