ABSTRACT
A well-designed assessment has beneficial impacts on students' learning and competency attainment. Failure in obtaining psychomotor learning competency, lack of understanding of assessment principles among instructors, unoptimized information and technology facilities, and difficulties in ensuring the integrity of online examination are among the threats to validity of online anatomy assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure the validity of anatomy assessment during the pandemic, it is important to adopt several educational principles into the assessment design. We solidify the input discussed in the Malaysian Anatomical Association webinar 2021, on the challenges of anatomy online assessment and proposed six solutions to the challenges, namely adopting the programmatic assessment design, conducting small group in-person high stake examination, modifying assessment policy, utilizing question bank software, upgrading ICT facilities, and offering the ICT training to the students and instructors. It is envisioned that anatomy assessment are future ready are adaptive to change. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Anatomy is perceived to be an onerous subject as it contains complex information that necessitates three-dimensional visualization to comprehend. During COVID-19 pandemic, there was a paradigm shift to online distance learning including practical sessions. Innovative instructional techniques of learning anatomy are clearly needed.Methods: An e-Anatomy kit composing of 5 components: i) pre-recorded cadaveric demonstrations, ii) Complete Anatomy application, iii) interactive diagram labelling, iv) schematic diagram and v) mnemonics were designed to improve the Respiratory Module virtual practical experience of medical students from Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. The students were divided into 2 groups: the control group had regular discussion and the experimental group received an e-Anatomy kit. Pre- and post-test containing Anatomy questions as well as questionnaires regarding student perceptions were also given to the students. Results: There was significant difference between the means of pre- and post-test assessment in both control and e-Anatomy kit groups. There were no differences of post-test assessments between the control and e-Anatomy kit groups. However, in post-test assessments, the mean percentage difference of the e-Anatomy kit group is higher (15.8%) in comparison to the control group (10.3%). The students perceived the e-Anatomy kit as engaging, interesting and effective. Conclusion: e-Anatomy kit is an efficient and engaging approach as an alternative or adjunct to face-to-face anatomy teaching, especially under COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affects medical education in anatomy. The new learning environment has lost face-to-face contact, cadaveric dissection and access to anatomy museum which are perceived as the signature methods in anatomy education. E-anatomy kit is a non-conventional teaching modality innovated as an alternative to the gross practical session. The e-anatomy kit was designed to improve the virtual practical experience for first year medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. E-anatomy kit consists of: (a) pre-recorded cadaveric demonstration, (b) 3D4Medical Complete Anatomy app, (c) interactive diagram labelling, (d) schematic diagram, and (e) mnemonic. From educational perspective, the e-anatomy kit is in line with the active learning approach and collaborative learning;its instructional design follows the principles of the Cognitive Load Theory. This article describes the components and systematic approach of e-anatomy kit as a new method for teaching gross anatomy of respiratory system during virtual practical, which is useful for anatomy educators. © 2022 Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia. All right reserved.
ABSTRACT
In the context of medical education, body painting refers to the schematic portrayal of internal organs on the body's surface. Body painting session has been reported to be fun and engaging, and it encourages learning through easy visualisation of underlying anatomical structures. Besides improving anatomical knowledge retention, body painting is particularly effective for learning surface anatomy and complementing the teaching of clinical skills and peer assessment procedures such as palpation. Indeed, the clinical relevance of the gross anatomy can be conveyed to students by bringing cadaveric anatomy to life body painting. In educational perspective, the delivery of body painting method is in line with the active learning approach and collaborative learning principle;and its instructional design follows the principles of the cognitive load theory. In this article, we provide a systematic approach for a successful body painting session for anatomy teaching via online platform, which cater for remote learning needs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. © Malaysian Association of Education in Medicine and Health Sciences and Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia. 2022
ABSTRACT
The abrupt transition from face-to-face to online anatomy teaching amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has posed great challenges to anatomy lecturers in Malaysia, as they have had to adapt to new skills to prepare and deliver online classes. These online classes were delivered either synchronously via a web teleconferencing application or asynchronously through pre-recorded videos that were uploaded to the learning management system (LMS). The online delivery of anatomy practical classes has become a major concern among anatomy lecturers and students, especially in public institutions, as there is a lack of hands-on experience and social interaction. Nevertheless, some private medical schools have adapted well to both online lectures and practical classes, as they had been venturing towards online learning and virtual reality tools even before the pandemic commenced. The Malaysian Anatomical Association (MAA) webinar, "Transformation of Anatomy Education in Malaysia during COVID-19 Pandemic", discussed the issues related to lecturers' and students' receptivity to online anatomy classes. This study discusses the issues related to online anatomy teaching and learning (T&L) and the actions taken by the university's governance and anatomy faculty members to resolve the issues discussed in the academic discourse. © 2021 Malaysian Association of Education in Medicine and Health Sciences and Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.