The anatomy lesson of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: irreplaceable tradition (cadaver work) and new didactics of digital technology

Abstract

Aim: To compare the efficacy of different components of online and contact anatomy classes as perceived by medical students.

Methods: An anonymous course evaluation survey was conducted at the end of the academic year 2019/2020. The organization of classes due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic provided our students with a unique opportunity to compare online and contact classes. Students' responses were analyzed according to the type of obtained data (ratio, ordinal, and categorical).

Results: The response rate was 95.58%. Approximately 90% of students found anatomical dissection and practical work in general to be the most important aspect of teaching, which could not be replaced by online learning. During online classes, students missed the most the interaction with other students, followed by the interaction with student teaching assistants and teaching staff. Very few students found contact lectures useful, with most students reporting that they could be replaced with recorded video lectures. In contrast, recorded video lectures were perceived as extremely helpful for studying. Regular weekly quizzes were essential during online classes as they gave students adequate feedback and guided their learning process. Students greatly benefitted from additional course materials and interactive lessons, which were made easily available via e-learning platform.

Conclusions: Anatomical dissection and interaction during contact classes remain the most important aspects of teaching anatomy. However, online teaching increases learning efficiency by allowing alternative learning strategies and by substituting certain components of contact classes, thus freeing up more time for practical work.

Figure 1

Comparison of students' responses to questions about contact and online classes. (A) Comparison of responses to questions in which students had to write the average number of hours per day that they spent studying anatomy during contact classes (Question 8) and during online classes (Question 9). Markers (black circle and square) represent the mean, error bars represent the standard deviation, and the P-value is shown on the plot (paired t test). (B) Violin plots showing a smoothed distribution of students' responses to the question in which students evaluated how easily they could assess their knowledge and progress during contact classes (Question 5) and during online classes (Question 6). The dotted line in the violin plots represents the median of the responses to each question. The size of the bulge in a violin plot is proportional to the frequency of students who chose the grade displayed on the y-axis. The P-value is shown on the plot (paired Wilcoxon rank test).

Figure 2

Bar graphs showing the response frequencies for the following questions: (A) Which types of contact classes could be adequately replaced with online classes? (Question S23); (B) Which types of contact classes did you benefit from the most in preparing the course material? (Question S24).

Figure 3

Violin plots showing a smoothed distribution of responses by students from different groups (divided into quartiles based on their written partial exam score during continuous assessment: Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4) to the questions in which significant differences between groups were found. The dotted line in the violin plots represents the median of the responses to each question. The size of the bulge in a violin plot is proportional to the frequency of students who chose the grade displayed on the y-axis. Significant differences are marked on the plots (Kruskal-Wallis test with the Dunn post hoc test). The different panels show responses to the questions pertaining to (A) the use of online material in learning (Question 1), (B) the amount of effort students put into learning the course material (Question 2), (C) the usefulness of frequent quizzes for mastering the course material (Question 3), and (D) the difficulty of the course (Question 7).

Figure 4

Bar graphs showing the results of the crosstabulation analysis. Students' responses are shown by groups (divided into quartiles based on their written partial exam score during continuous assessment: Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4) to the questions on: (A) which types of contact classes could be adequately replaced with online classes (Question S23), (B) which segments of online classes helped students the most in preparing the course material (Question S25), and (C) which types of contact classes students missed the most during online classes (Question S26).