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Effects of instructional strategies using cross‐sections on the recognition of anatomical structures in radiological images
Author(s) -
Khalil Mohammed K,
Paas Fred,
Johnson Tristan E,
Su Yung K,
Payer Andrew F
Publication year - 2007
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.21.6.lb1-c
Subject(s) - radiological weapon , test (biology) , cognition , radiological imaging , medical physics , medicine , psychology , computer science , radiology , neuroscience , paleontology , biology
This research is an effort to best utilize interactive anatomical images for instructional purposes based on cognitive load theory. Three studies explored the differential effects of three computer‐based instructional strategies that use anatomical cross‐sections to enhance the interpretation of radiological images. These strategies include: cross‐sectional images that can be superimposed on radiological images, transparent highlighting of anatomical structures in radiological images, and cross‐sectional images with radiological images presented side‐by‐side. Data collected included time spent on instruction and on solving test questions; mental efforts during instruction and test; and students’ performance to identify anatomical structures in radiological images. Participants were twenty‐eight freshmen medical students (15 males and 13 females) and two‐hundred and eight biology students (190 females and 18 males). All studies used posttest‐only control group design, and the collected data was analyzed by either t test or ANOVA. In self‐directed computer‐based environments, the strategies that use cross‐sections to improve students’ ability to recognize anatomic structures in radiological images showed no significant positive effects. However, when increasing the complexity of the instructional materials, cross‐sectional images imposed a higher cognitive load.