107 - Integrating Active Learning into an Online Graduate Anatomy Course: A Guide for Anatomy Educators

Poster Board Number: 107
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Abby Cummings - Michigan State University; Kimberly Meyer - UNTHSC; Taylor Robertson - UNTHSC; Marcel Kerr - UNTHSC; Scott Maddux - UNTHSC; Amber Heck - UNTHSC; Rustin Reeves - UNTHSC; Emma Handler - University of Iowa

Abstract Body :
Introduction: Human anatomy is a fundamental, introductory course in most graduate health professional programs. As the high demand for health professionals has spurred enrollment in anatomy courses, institutions have been urged to provide alternative course formats, including online courses. Furthermore, higher education has been challenged to transition lecture-based methods to active learning activities as previous research has shown increases in satisfaction, enjoyment, retention, and academic performance. However, many educators remain skeptical regarding the efficacy of online instruction and the use of active learning modalities. Currently, little research has measured student satisfaction and academic performance with different active learning techniques in an online course.Methods: This study related student satisfaction and exam performance with four active learning techniques (jigsaw, team-learning module, concept mapping, and question constructing) in an online, asynchronous, graduate anatomy course. The self-reported surveys consisted of Likert-scale rated questions that asked students to indicate their level of satisfaction with the active learning techniques. The influence of each active learning technique on student’s academic performance was measured via ANOVAs using the respective unit exam score and final course grades.Results: One hundred seventy (170) students completed the course and all five of the unit surveys. Overall, students were significantly more satisfied with jigsaw and question constructing than with concept mapping and team-learning module. Although academic performance was non-significantly different between the active learning techniques, jigsaw generally performed slightly better than the other techniques across exams. Further, it was found that students performed significantly better on exam questions related to the course content they “taught” during the active learning activities compared to the content they “learned” from their peers. Conclusion: Findings suggest that active learning methods that require students to teach their peers, such as jigsaw, outperform other active learning techniques regarding student satisfaction and academic performance. Significance: Currently, there is a lack of research comparing active learning techniques in an online learning environment. These findings provide anatomy educators with evidence that certain active learning techniques increase student satisfaction in an online format. Furthermore, this study highlights the benefits of peer-teaching (but not peer-learning) on academic performance, showing that requiring students to teach provides them with substantially greater educational benefits than learning from either peers or faculty.