The Students' Point of View on the Teaching of Anatomy at the Universidad del Norte, Colombia, Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted long-standing educational practices. In Colombia, online learning depends on academic and non-academic factors, and this dependence makes e-learning even more difficult. This paper aimed to study the students' viewpoint of Anatomy teaching at Universidad del Norte, Colombia, during the Covid-19 pandemic. One hundred sixteen students answered a questionnaire about their opinions on several topics related to online learning of Anatomy. The strongest correlation observed showed that the students agree that online anatomy classes make the subject more difficult to learn when compared to face-to-face lectures. Negative attitudes toward motivation, lack of personal contact with classmates, and complaints about being taught without laboratory sessions with cadavers were among the principal negative attitudes in students. After almost one year, motivation to participate in online classes went down;however, students improved their judgment about remote anatomy learning and their views about using authentic anatomy images during online sessions and substituting real anatomy images for apps. Anatomy sessions will have to adapt their learning tools to e-learning as time constraints allow, creating a new environment for students to participate, learn, and take advantage of this change.