There are few graduate programs available for pursuing a doctorate in anatomy where students gain specific training in gross anatomy dissection and the responsibilities of a medical educator. In light of this fact, the University of Kentucky created a Graduate Certificate in Anatomical Sciences Instruction in 2006. This 12-credit hour curriculum includes detailed training in gross anatomy and/or neuroscience courses, practicum experiences, a seminar class in pedagogical literature, and a course in educational strategies for the anatomical sciences. The award of certificate completion affirms that the candidate has demonstrated faculty-supervised proficiency in anatomy dissection, instruction in anatomy topics, and teaching strategies for anatomy. Seventeen graduate students have earned the certificate since its inception; nine students accepted teaching positions in anatomy following their graduate training and currently nine certificate graduates have assistant (six) or associate (three) professor positions in academia. In 2016, an anonymous survey including Likert-style and open-ended questions was emailed to all certificate graduates. Graduates favorably responded (each question averaged 4.4 or greater out of 5) that the certificate increased their awareness of teaching-faculty responsibilities, adequately prepared them for teaching-related duties, and positively contributed toward their first employment. Graduates indicated that the lecturing and dissection experience, awareness of faculty responsibilities, and job preparation (e.g., teaching philosophy development) were the most helpful aspects of the certificate. These results indicate that the Graduate Certificate in Anatomical Sciences Instruction is viewed by its graduates and their employers as a valuable teaching credential that can be attained alongside a basic science degree. Anat Sci Educ 11: 516-524. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.
Visualization of the complex courses of the cranial nerves by students in the health-related professions is challenging through either diagrams in books or plastic models in the gross laboratory. Furthermore, dissection of the cranial nerves in the gross laboratory is an extremely meticulous task. Teaching and learning the cranial nerve pathways is difficult using two-dimensional (2D) illustrations alone. Three-dimensional (3D) models aid the teacher in describing intricate and complex anatomical structures and help students visualize them. The study of the cranial nerves can be supplemented with 3D, which permits the students to fully visualize their distribution within the craniofacial complex. This article describes the construction and usage of a virtual anatomy platform in Second Life™, which contains 3D models of the cranial nerves III, V, VII, and IX. The Cranial Nerve Skywalk features select cranial nerves and the associated autonomic pathways in an immersive online environment. This teaching supplement was introduced to groups of pre-healthcare professional students in gross anatomy courses at both institutions and student feedback is included.
Team-based learning (TBL) in a 3D online environment is described here. Prehealthcare professional students enrolled in a new regional anatomy course met weekly in the virtual world of Second Life™ for synchronous TBL sessions. Second Life™ provided an immersive online environment for effectively transitioning TBL components into the online domain.
Virtual world technology was used to create 3D anatomy models of the pterygopalatine fossa, including a basic cone model that illustrates the boundaries and transmitted nerves and an organic model that displays the nerves in context with surrounding bones. The design and implementation of the virtual models are discussed here.The pterygopalatine fossa is an important anatomical region for health science students to master, as it commonly serves as a conduit for tumors of the nose, paranasal sinuses and palate. The anatomy of the fossa is complicated and often confusing to students, being positioned deep in the skull base, hidden from view in the intact skull.Because it is such a difficult area to teach and learn, the pterygopalatine fossa and its adjacent compartments in the head have garnered attention in the health science educational literature, with a number of pedagogical approaches documented striving to facilitate their mastery. 1,2 The virtual world of Second Life™ makes it possible to merge the strengths of more traditional approaches to create a fully interactive, 3D virtual model of the pterygopalatine fossa.Second Life is a live, online, interactive 3D environment populated by users, or avatars, that explore the virtual world, interact with other users by text or voice chat, and participate in individual and group activities. Virtual space is represented by "islands" in Second Life and each has its own specific location within the virtual world. Users enter the virtual world through a free client program known as Second Life Viewer. There is an active educational community in Second Life, with more than three hundred colleges and universities teaching courses and conducting research there on their respective islands. 3 However, few schools in Second Life have developed anatomical models for conceptually challenging regions. 4,5 A 3D cone replica of the pterygopalatine fossa was created in Second Life using the intrinsic 3D design capabilities of this program. The virtual cone represents the superior/anterior, lateral, posterior, inferior, and medial borders of the pterygopalatine fossa and the foramina that allow for communication between this deep space and the orbit, infratemporal fossa, cranial, oral, and nasal cavities, respectively. In a lateral view of the virtual cone model, for example, the teardrop-shaped opening in the lateral wall (colored in red) represents the pterygomaxillary fissure that allows communication between the pterygopalatine fossa and the infratemporal fossa laterally (Figure 1). The posterior boundary of pterygopalatine fossa (colored in orange) is formed by the sphenoid bone and has openings, the foramen rotundum and the pterygoid canal, that allow communication between the pterygopalatine fossa and the cranial cavity (Figure 2).In order to facilitate understanding of the nerves that course through the pterygopalatine fossa, branches of the second or maxillary division of the Trigeminal nerve (V2) were constructed using the 3D modeling tools within Second Life. In F...
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