Innovative Teaching Activities for Anatomy and Neuroanatomy

1
Innovative Teaching Activities for Anatomy and
Neuroanatomy
Amy Skinder-Meredith, Ph.D., Washington State
University, Department of Speech and Hearing
Sciences

• Background
• Courses in Anatomy and Neuroanatomy have
  traditionally relied on passive learning with
  rote memorization. The hands-on interactive
  exercises presented in this poster not only
  encourage collaboration between students, but
  also provide kinesthetic and visual imaging
  experiences that reinforce course content while
  catering to a variety of learning styles. When
  McMenamin (2008) incorporated body painting of
  muscles, skeletal structures and nerves with his
  medical students, he found the majority of
  students surveyed felt the exercises were
  enjoyable and useful.
• Method
• Participants
• 49 upper division undergraduate students in
  Anatomy of the Speech Mechanism at Washington
  State University. This class mainly consists of
  juniors and post baccalaureates.
• 62 upper division undergraduate students in
  Neuroanatomy for Speech and Hearing at Washington
  State University and Eastern Washington
  University. This class mainly consists of seniors
  and post baccalaureates and the class is taught
  to two locations simultaneously.
• Procedures
• Hands on activities were given throughout the
  course of the semester to reinforce a variety of
  anatomical and neuroanatomical concepts. (see
  table 1)
• Anatomy students were given a brief questionnaire
  to fill out at the end of the semester on the
  alternative learning exercises using a 5-point
  Likert scale. (see table 2)

Results
ANATOMY
Figure 1. Building Vertebrae
Figure 2. Drawing Skeletal Structures for Muscle
T-Shirt
Table 2. Evaluation of Activities in Anatomy
(n49) (n35)
Figure 3. Respiration Muscle T-shirts
Figure 6. Average Ratings with SDs on a scale of
1-5, where 1strongly disagree and 5 strongly
agree for the various anatomy activities.
Table 1. Anatomical and Neuroanatomical Concepts
and Reinforcing Activities
Figure 4. Building a Larynx
Figure 4. Painting Facial Muscles

• Conclusions
• The majority of students found all activities to
  be enjoyable and useful as a learning tool.
• On average, ratings for useful learning tool
  were slightly higher than enjoyable.
• The muscle t-shirt and face painting activities
  and the cleft palate surgery video were thought
  to be the most useful learning tools and had the
  largest discrepancies between enjoyment and
  usefulness.
• Discussion
• Results indicate that students dont always enjoy
  what they find useful as a learning tool.
• The cadaver lab was an optional activity, in
  which only 35 out of 49 students attended. Of
  these, only about 20 attended regularly. It is
  interesting to note that the non-cadaver
  activities were thought to be just as useful, if
  not more useful than cadaver lab.
• The neuroanatomy students were not surveyed due
  to the class taking place in two locations via
  videoconferencing. This was a first for the
  instructor.
• When doing hands-on activities via video
  conferencing additional accommodations should be
  made, such as having a TA available in the
  classroom where the instructor is not.
• Reference
• McMenamin, P. G. (2008). Body painting as a tool
  in clinical anatomy teaching. Anatomical Sciences
  Education, 1, 139 190.
• Go to ASHA website to download the handouts.

NEUROANATOMY
Figure 5. Brain Swim Caps
Figure 5. Brain Swim Caps