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Use of a clay construction activity in gross anatomy
Publication year - 2008
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.22.1_supplement.385.3
Subject(s) - gross anatomy , dissection (medical) , human anatomy , significant difference , adjunct , medicine , physical therapy , psychology , anatomy , philosophy , linguistics
The ability to conceptualize human anatomy in three dimensions is important to success in anatomy classrooms and clinical settings. A pilot project completed in 2006 indicated that modeling the external rotators of the hip out of clay may be a useful adjunct to dissection. However, there is limited research regarding this topic. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine whether a clay construction activity is a beneficial adjunct to laboratory for occupational therapy (OT) students. A group of 26 OT students enrolled in a gross anatomy course were randomly divided into experimental (EG) and control (CG) groups. Both groups participated in dissection. Following dissection, the EG participated in the clay activity and the CG studied the completed dissection. Groups were evaluated using a pretest and a posttest. There was no significant difference in the pretest scores for the EG and CG. However, the EG had significantly higher (p < 0.05) posttest scores compared to the CG (EG = 60.8 ± 14.4; CG = 34.6 ± 19.4). In addition, the EG perceived the activity to be beneficial to their understanding and visualization of the anatomy. In conclusion, the addition of a clay construction activity, as an adjunct to laboratory, was found to be beneficial by students and resulted in higher posttest scores. We intend to continue this investigation with physical therapy, medical and additional OT students.