119 - Medical Neuroanatomy Survey of Student Confidence: A Principal Coordinate Analysis of Course Objectives

Poster Board Number: 119
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Tony Harper, Ph.D - Assistant Professor, Anatomy, Lincoln Memorial University - DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine; Brent Thompson, Ph.D - Associate Professor, Anatomy, Lincoln Memorial University - DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine

Abstract Body : Introduction: Medical Neuroanatomy is an integrative course taught within the first-year medical school curriculum. Many students find this course especially challenging as it requires them to translate anatomical knowledge into clinical symptoms. The aim of this study is to identify specific course learning objectives that students are least confident in, as a guide for future creation of novel and impactful laboratory experiences to enhance student learning. To accomplish this, survey data was collected and assessed by the novel application of Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA).

Materials and Methods: Two anonymous 5-point Likert scale surveys were implemented Spring 2023 to assess student confidence pertaining to lecture objectives for each of the 38 lectures in Medical Neuroanatomy, which provided independent categorial measurements of student confidence for each topic. A sample of 40 students completed both surveys. Because the use of ordinal categorical variables precludes the use of many common statistical ordination methods, PCoA, based on the pairwise Jaccard distances between student respondents, was utilized to summarize the major sources of variation and patterns of covariation in this sample.

Results: From the two surveys, a total of 113 learning objective topics were assessed. The mean Likert score for all learning objective topics was 4.22, with a range of 3.5-4.85. PCoA was performed and the first two principal coordinates are described here, representing 35% of total variance. The PC1 values corresponded with student self-confidence in Medical Neuroanatomy, with almost all learning objectives having positive loadings. PC2 values separated less-confident student responders into two broad groups: one that had difficulty with topics related to CNS tracts and pathways (PC2 loadings ≥ 0.30), and one that was unconfident in neuro-ophthalmology (PC2 loadings ≤ -0.42).

Conclusion: This multivariate analysis of Likert score data on student confidence indicated that while student confidence in all lecture objectives tended to covary along a single axis (PC1), significant patterns of positive and negative covariation among lecture objectives are apparent using PCoA. Covariation was observed for two groups of objectives along our PC2 axis, separating unconfident students along two general neuroanatomical themes. These findings provide a valuable indication of how instruction time could be most wisely reallocated by faculty and will be used as a foundation for the creation of future laboratory experiences. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the novel application of PCoA for medical school course assessment and improvement.