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Ready to Launch: Student Performance in a Fully Online Laboratory Pilot Course
Author(s) -
Hill Cheryl A.,
Greer Sean,
Proffitt James,
Stafford Amanda
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.07161
Subject(s) - computer science , medical education , population , medical physics , multimedia , medicine , environmental health
The undergraduate human laboratory course at the University of Missouri provides anatomical education to a large population of health sciences undergraduates. To meet demand, an interdisciplinary team developed and implemented a fully online laboratory section in the fall of 2019 to complement the established hybrid laboratory sections. The current laboratory course is hybrid with one weekly meeting and a substantial online component. The model‐based face‐to‐face lab component of the hybrid sections was replaced by online virtual labs using the 3d4Medical Complete Anatomy app. Students were provided with worksheets to accompany a curated series of screens within the app to replicate the models and stations used in the face‐to‐face labs. Weekly meetings were held via a video conferencing platform to provide additional practice, assistance and opportunities to discuss clinical applications. The purpose of this study is to analyze student performance and satisfaction in a fully online section of a human anatomy laboratory course. The study sample included students enrolled in the fully online lab section (n=10) and the established hybrid lab section (n=405) in the fall of 2019. Student performance data include pre‐course assessments, post‐course assessments and three course exams. Exams consisted of 50 multiple choice questions on tagged models or specimens (physical models and donor materials in the hybrid lab sections, digital 3D models in the online section), histology slides, and radiology images. Questions on the assessments and exams were consistent across lab sections. Scores were statistically compared between the two lab modalities. Other data also collected during the semester included demographic data, mid‐semester evaluations and end‐of semester evaluations. Late semester results indicate that the students enrolled in the online course have higher exam scores compared to students enrolled in the hybrid sections, which possibly reflect the high level of motivation of the students enrolled in the online course. Students in the fully online section have expressed frustration with the app used in lieu of the in‐class models. Data from the pilot course will be used to inform future course organizational decisions.