Abstract:

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced anatomy instructional activities to be fully conducted online. This reduces the kinaesthetic experience in learning the subject, making it less engaging and increases the tendency for medical students to practise surface learning. Therefore, it is imperative for anatomists to be creative in transferring the teaching and learning material online to maximise students’ engagement and knowledge acquisition. Recent trend encourages the use of radiology as a context in anatomy lessons to stimulate meaningful learning. This study aimed to determine the impact of the use of radiological images in gross anatomy supplementary e-learning course on students’ comprehension, engagement, and cognitive load. Two types of supplementary e-learning courses, i) using radiological images and ii) using non-radiological images were developed based on E-learning Engagement Design (ELED) framework. A randomised controlled trial involving 82 first-year medical students was conducted to compare the impact of these two e-learning courses. Students’ comprehension was measured using pre-e-learning and post-e-learning assessments, the engagement level was measured using Burch Engagement Survey for Students and the cognitive load was measured using the Cognitive Load Scale. In addition, open feedback from the students was collected to explore their experience in using the e-learning courses. The results revealed no significant difference in students’ comprehension, engagement, and cognitive load between the two types of e-learning. Both types of e-learning managed to significantly improve the students’ assessment scores. Nonetheless, the use of radiological images elevated students’ perception of the value of learning, cognitive engagement, and emotional engagement. This study showed that students benefitted from a well-designed e-learning course although the use of radiological images could not be proven to have an advantage in anatomy online learning.

Keywords:

Anatomy education, e-learning, Radiological images, COVID-19.