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ALTERNATIVES FOR IMPROVING VETERINARY MEDICAL STUDENTS' LEARNING OF CLINICAL SONOGRAPHY
Author(s) -
Wood Andrew K.W.,
Lublin Jacqueline R.,
Hoffmann Karon L.,
Dadd Michael J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
veterinary radiology and ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.541
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1740-8261
pISSN - 1058-8183
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-8261.2000.tb01867.x
Subject(s) - experiential learning , medicine , tutor , curriculum , class (philosophy) , medical education , teaching method , session (web analytics) , mathematics education , radiology , pedagogy , psychology , artificial intelligence , world wide web , computer science
With the widespread clinical use of sonography there is a need to introduce the topic into the curriculum. A new problem‐based course in clinical sonography without lectures was developed to emphasise experiential learning, and engage students actively in individual and collective acts of discovery. Four different approaches were used to deliver the new course to 141 veterinary medical students over four semesters. The physical principles of sonography were taught by computer‐assisted instruction and a practical class, clinical examinations were introduced during a session with a tutor, and finally each student wrote an essay on a sonographic topic of their choice. To evaluate the new course, students' responses to a questionnaire were analyzed. Students gained reasonable understanding of the physical principles of sonography and had some confidence in conducting a sonographic examination of an animal. Of most use to student learning was discussion with the teachers. Surprisingly, half the students thought the topic should also be taught by lectures. The students learned the material and acquired the sonographic skills through processes which required more independence and self‐responsibility than traditional teaching methods. The teachers' interaction with students on an individual basis, as they encountered individual problems, was the most important resource in learning about sonography. The continued request for lectures suggests an insecurity in some students caught between two different paradigms of teaching and learning (experiential, problem‐based learning versus lectures).