Enhancing Anatomical Instruction: Impact of a Virtual Canine Anatomy Program on Student Outcomes

• Published in: Anatomical sciences education 2022-03, Vol.15 (2), p.330-340
• Main Authors: Linton, Andrea, Garrett, Andrew C., Ivie, Kenneth R., Jones, Jay D., Martin, Jason F., Delcambre, Jeremy J., Magee, Christianne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Anatomy; Anatomy - education; anatomy pedagogy; anatomy software; Animals; Cadaver; Computer-Assisted Instruction; computer‐assisted learning; Curriculum; Dissection; Dissection - education; dissection quality; Dogs; Education, Medical, Undergraduate - methods; Educational Measurement; Educational Technology; Electronic Learning; Humans; Instructional Material Evaluation; Laboratories; Laboratory Procedures; Learning; Medical Education; Outcomes of Education; Science Instruction; Student Attitudes; Students; students' performance; Students, Medical; Teaching assistants; veterinary anatomy education
• ISSN: 1935-9772; 1935-9780
• DOI: 10.1002/ase.2087

Innovative reforms in medical education will require instructional tools to support these changes and to give students more flexibility in where and how they learn. At Colorado State University, the software program Virtual Canine Anatomy (VCA) was developed to assist student learning both inside and outside the anatomical laboratory. The program includes interactive anatomical photographs of dissected canine cadavers, dissection instructions with accompanying videos and diagrams, radiographs, and three‐dimensional models. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional tools like VCA so that decisions on pedagogical delivery can be evidence‐based. To measure the impact of VCA on student outcomes in a dissection laboratory, this study compared student attitudes, quiz scores, dissection quality and accuracy, and instructor reliance between students with and without access to VCA. Students with VCA needed less time with teaching assistants (P