Abstract:

We present the adaptation of practical contents to a virtual teaching format promoted by the University of Barcelona due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020/2021 course. It is the case of the practical classes of Human Physiology in the bachelor's degree of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. With this aim, the practical face-to-face sessions focused on the study of Histology and the Anatomy of the Skeletal and Nervous Systems was adapted to an online session. The contents were structured in 3 different lessons that were implemented in the Virtual Campus (Moodle). The session was synchronic, involving autonomous and guided learning through BlackBoard Collaborate. The contents were worked through lessons that contained a compilation of essential contents, links to recommended bibliography, and the Visible Body software as a comprehensive 3D Human Anatomy Atlas. The lessons included several activities in the form of multiple-choice, correlation, and true/false tests that students had to answer correctly before moving on to the next screen. The contents of the sessions were evaluated through a face-to-face exam in the classroom. During this exam, the students were invited to answer a voluntary, anonymous survey about the session, using a 0-5 scale (where 0 was the minimum and 5 the maximum). More than 85% of the students answered the survey that included questions related to the contents and usefulness of each of the three lessons, the adequacy of time of the session, the overall utility of the session to assimilate the theoretical contents, the value of the virtual session in an imposed non-face-to-face scenario, the preference of remote learning in comparison with a face-to-face practical laboratory, and an overall satisfaction degree of the virtual session. Questions related to the student's use of a virtual practice session and connectivity problems were also included.

From the survey, we can deduce that the students highlighted the role of the lessons to assimilate the involved theoretical contents (91.5 %, 4-5 marks). The contents and usefulness of each of the 3 lessons were graded (4-5 marks) as follows: lesson 1 (Histology): 76.3 %, lesson 2 (Anatomy of the Skeletal System): 79.7%, and lesson 3 (Anatomy of the Nervous System): 74.6%. Moreover, the students positively evaluated the duration of the session, with 61% of the results in 5 marks. The adaptation of this practical class to the virtual environment was evaluated satisfactorily (73.6 %, 4-5 marks). Although students did not consider replacing face-to-face practical classes (42.4 % 4-5 marks), the proposed virtual session was considered an excellent alternative to the practical one in an imposed non-face-to-face scenario (93.2%).

The analyses include comparing the qualifications on this practical session and those obtained by students during the 2018-2019 course (pre-Covid situation). The marks obtained by students in the true/false questions were like in previous courses (8.9 and 9.0, for 2020-2021 and 2018-2019 courses, respectively). However, a significant improvement in the marks associated with open questions was found (mean scores of 7.8 and 9.5, for 2020-2021 and 2018-2019 courses, respectively). In conclusion, the remote learning adaptation of the practices of Histology and Anatomy was excellently accepted by the students that achieved a similar or even better acquisition of knowledge of the proposed contents compared to face-to-face practical sessions.

Keywords:

Remote learning adaptation, practical classes, lessons, Moodle, qualifications.