J Educ Eval Health Prof.  2016;13:32. 10.3352/jeehp.2016.13.32.

The student's experience of applied equivalence-based instruction for neuroanatomy teaching

• Greville W
• Dymond S
• Newton PM

• KMID: 2413781
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2016.13.32

Abstract

PURPOSE
Esoteric jargon and technical language are potential barriers to the teaching of science and medicine. Effective teaching strategies which address these barriers are desirable. Here, we created and evaluated the effectiveness of standalone learning 'equivalence-based instruction' (EBI) resources wherein the teaching of a small number of direct relationships between stimuli (e.g., anatomical regions, their function, and pathology) results in the learning of higher numbers of untaught relationships.
METHODS
We used a pre and post test design to assess students' learning of the relations. Resources were evaluated by students for perceived usefulness and confidence in the topic. Three versions of the resources were designed, to explore learning parameters such as the number of stimulus classes and the number of relationships within these classes.
RESULTS
We show that use of EBI resulted in demonstrable learning of material that had not been directly taught. The resources were well received by students, even when the quantity of material to be learned was high. There was a strong desire for more EBI-based teaching. The findings are discussed in the context of an ongoing debate surrounding 'rote' vs. 'deep' learning, and the need to balance this debate with considerations of cognitive load and esoteric jargon routinely encountered during the study of medicine.
CONCLUSION
These standalone EBI resources were an effective, efficient and well-received method for teaching neuroanatomy to medical students. The approach may be of benefit to other subjects with abundant technical jargon, such as science and medicine.

Keyword

Cognition; Learning; Neuroanatomy; Medical students; United Kingdom

MeSH Terms

Cognition
Great Britain
Humans
Learning
Methods
Neuroanatomy*
Students, Medical

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Representative screen shot of a match-to-sample trial (left) and following a successful response (right). In this example the A=B relation was being taught for stimulus class 2 (i.e., A2=B2; see Table 1). ‘Occipital cortex’ (A2) was presented as the sample, while B1, B2, B3, and B4 (in random order) were presented as comparison stimuli. Participants were required to select the correct B stimulus.

• 

  Fig. 2. Medical students’ ratings of their confidence in the topic of neuroanatomy before and after completion of resource 1 (A), 2 (B), and 3 (C). These data are shown arranged around the midpoint of the 5-point Likert-type scale. Following completion of either resource there was a clear and statistically significant shift, within the participant group, to responses indicating a higher level of confidence.

• 

  Fig. 3. Medical student ratings of their perceived ‘usefulness’ of the individual resources. These data are shown arranged around the midpoint of the 5-point Likert-type scale. There was no significant difference found between ratings for the individual resources (see text).

Reference

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