150 - The Rise of Anki: Medical Students’ Utilization and Perceptions of the Online Flashcard Application

Poster Board Number: 150
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

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Abstract Body : Introduction: Anki is an online flashcard application that utilizes retrieval practice and spaced repetition to promote learning and retention and has been gaining popularity among medical students. The purpose of this study is to examine students’ use of Anki during an integrated Human Structure (HS) course. Research questions include: 1) How many students use Anki to study for HS; and 2) What perceptions do students have about Anki as a study resource?

Methods: This IRB-approved study included students enrolled in HS at Indiana University School of Medicine from 2016-2022. Prior to the first exam, students completed a guided reflection asking them to report which resources they found most helpful and least helpful for studying HS. The question was open-ended, and students could list any resources they wanted. Many students also discussed why they found those resources to be helpful or unhelpful for their studying. Reflections were analyzed by searching for mentions of Anki among the resources listed. Thematic analysis was used to analyze students’ perceptions of Anki.

Results: The analysis included 2476 student reflections. Of these, 624 (25.2%) reported using Anki. The number of students who reported using Anki steadily increased from 1.5% in 2016 to 49.4% in 2022. The largest increase occurred between 2019 (20.7%) and 2020 (44.6%). Among students who reported using Anki, most (435; 69.7%) listed it as a helpful resource, while 112 (17.9%) found it unhelpful, and 77 (12.3%) were unsure or had mixed perceptions. Thematic analysis of student perceptions revealed that Anki is most helpful when used every day to utilize the spaced repetition feature. Students also reported that Anki is most helpful for reviewing content that they had already studied using other resources; that Anki is helpful for studying some content (i.e., gross anatomy), but was unhelpful for other content (i.e., embryology); and that Anki is helpful for memorization but not helpful for seeing the “big picture” or understanding concepts and anatomical relationships.

Conclusion: Anki’s popularity among medical students has steadily increased over the past several years. The sharp increase in Anki use in 2020 was likely due to students having limited access to the gross anatomy laboratory outside of class due to COVID restrictions, leading to greater use of virtual study resources. While most students who used Anki found it helpful, many recognized that using Anki requires daily commitment to reap its full benefits, that its utility is limited to memorization, and that it does not promote deeper understanding of anatomical content.

Significance: With Anki’s growing popularity among students, this work will inform best practices for utilizing Anki to supplement students’ study of the anatomical sciences.