Spatial abilities of expert clinical anatomists: Comparison of abilities between novices, intermediates, and experts in anatomy

Fernández, Ruth Garzón; Dror, Itiel E.; Smith, Claire F.

doi:10.1002/ase.196

Cited by 59 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(49 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These results are similar to earlier findings by other authors (Hegarty et al, 2009;Fernandez et al, 2011;Lufler et al, 2012). These results are similar to earlier findings by other authors (Hegarty et al, 2009;Fernandez et al, 2011;Lufler et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Learning anatomy enhances spatial ability

Vorstenbosch

Klaassen

Donders

et al. 2013

Anatomical Sciences Ed

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spatial ability is an important factor in learning anatomy. Students with high scores on a mental rotation test (MRT) systematically score higher on anatomy examinations. This study aims to investigate if learning anatomy also oppositely improves the MRT-score. Five hundred first year students of medicine (n = 242, intervention) and educational sciences (n = 258, control) participated in a pretest and posttest MRT, 1 month apart. During this month, the intervention group studied anatomy and the control group studied research methods for the social sciences. In the pretest, the intervention group scored 14.40 (SD: ± 3.37) and the control group 13.17 (SD: ± 3.36) on a scale of 20, which is a significant difference (t-test, t = 4.07, df = 498, P < 0.001). Both groups show an improvement on the posttest compared to the pretest (paired samples t-test, t = 12.21/14.71, df = 257/241, P < 0.001). The improvement in the intervention group is significantly higher (ANCOVA, F = 16.59, df = 1;497, P < 0.001). It is concluded that (1) medical students studying anatomy show greater improvement between two consecutive MRTs than educational science students; (2) medical students have a higher spatial ability than educational sciences students; and (3) if a MRT is repeated there seems to be a test effect. It is concluded that spatial ability may be trained by studying anatomy. The overarching message for anatomy teachers is that a good spatial ability is beneficial for learning anatomy and learning anatomy may be beneficial for students' spatial ability. This reciprocal advantage implies that challenging students on spatial aspects of anatomical knowledge could have a twofold effect on their learning.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Learning anatomy enhances spatial ability

Vorstenbosch

Klaassen

Donders

et al. 2013

Anatomical Sciences Ed

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such spatial abilities are essential to medical training, as seen in surgeons and surgical trainees (Wanzel et al, 2002(Wanzel et al, , 2003Boom-Saad et al, 2008), and they are even called on early in students' education during the study of gross anatomy (Garg et al, 2001). To become proficient in anatomy, one must be able to visualize and mentally manipulate 3D structures and able to recall this information, when the anatomy is presented in various planes (Fernandez et al, 2011). Though there are multiple ways to teach anatomy, students' spatial ability plays a critical role when using learning resources that show the structures in multiple positions and from different directions (Garg et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effect of visual–spatial ability on medical students' performance in a gross anatomy course

Lufler

Zumwalt

Romney

et al. 2011

Anatomical Sciences Ed

132

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability to mentally manipulate objects in three dimensions is essential to the practice of many clinical medical specialties. The relationship between this type of visual-spatial ability and performance in preclinical courses such as medical gross anatomy is poorly understood. This study determined if visual-spatial ability is associated with performance on practical examinations, and if students' visual-spatial ability improves during medical gross anatomy. Three hundred and fifty-two first-year medical students completed the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) before the gross anatomy course and 255 at its completion in 2008 and 2009. Hypotheses were tested using logistic regression analysis and Student's t-test. Compared with students in the lowest quartile of the MRT, students who scored in the highest quartile of the MRT were 2.2 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2 and 3.8] and 2.1 (95% CI 1.2 and 3.5) times more likely to score greater than 90% on practical examinations and on both practical and written examinations, respectively. MRT scores for males and females increased significantly (P < 0.0001). Measurement of students' pre-existing visual-spatial ability is predictive of performance in medical gross anatomy, and early intervention may be useful for students with low visual-spatial ability on entry to medical school. Participation in medical gross anatomy increases students' visual-spatial ability, although the mechanism for this phenomenon is unknown.

show abstract

“…Actively encouraging reluctant students to engage in the artistic activity may help them to realise that they can actually learn in different ways (Naug et al, 2011), which is important for their metacognition and lifelong learning beyond anatomy and medical school. While artistic background and learning preferences may not influence learning with artistic methods, it is important to be aware of the existence of gender differences in visuospatial ability (Langlois et al, 2013;Linn & Petersen, 1985), an attribute which in turn is a key indicator of anatomical understanding (Fernandez, Dror, & Smith, 2011;Guillot, Champely, Batier, Thiriet, & Collet, 2007;Rochford, 1985;Vorstenbosch et al, 2013). …”

Section: Tip 6: Know Your Audiencementioning

confidence: 99%

Twelve tips for implementing artistic learning approaches in anatomy education

Keenan¹,

Hutchinson²,

Bell³

2017

MedEdPublish

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To enhance learning and maximise student satisfaction while simultaneously optimising costs and resources within the modern context and environment of integrated anatomy education, it is vital that innovative methods of delivering learning and teaching are considered for implementation into medical curricula. The development of learning processes including observation, visualisation, haptic reasoning and visuospatial ability are strongly associated with the use of artistic approaches. In addition to being crucial for medical student learning of anatomy and other life sciences, such skills are also relevant for training in surgery, clinical observation and diagnosis. The twelve tips outlined here have been identified with the intention of providing guidance for anatomy educators aiming to incorporate innovative creative and artistic approaches into their own teaching practice within medical curricula. These proposals are underpinned by educational theory and recent research that has investigated artistic learning methods in medical education. Recommendations are also based on our personal experiences from both the undergraduate student point of view as well as the academic educator perspective with respect to the usage of creative and artistic learning approaches in anatomy education at Newcastle University.Keywords: Anatomy, Artistic learning methods, Undergraduate medical education Tip 1: Take a scholarly approach When designing and introducing any teaching innovation, in order to provide the best possible educational experience for students, it is important to draw on many aspects of the learning process and environment. To provide a strong pedagogical basis for an artistic learning approach, it is important to identify both the educational theory and research evidence that underpin the practical method. Theories of learning can provide an effective starting point when designing an innovative artistic approach, particularly those that include scope for learning that begins with a basic outline and then gradually builds upon prior knowledge of anatomical structures in order to develop complexity (Ausubel, 2012;Kolb, 1984), a process that can correspond to the production of artwork. Theories of drawing and learning through art (Catterall, 2005;Perkins, 1994;Petherbridge, 2010) can also provide useful insights into the practical educational value of artistic methods. The pedagogical value of artistic methods are primarily related to the motor skills and cognitive processes that are engaged when using such approaches. Research evidence suggests that key elements of observation (Backhouse, Fitzpatrick, Hutchinson, Thandi, & Keenan, 2017;Chamberlain et al., 2014;Jasani & Saks, 2013;Lyon, Letschka, Ainsworth, & Haq, 2013;Moore, Lowe, Lawrence, & Borchers, 2011;Pellico, Friedlaender, & Fennie, 2009) reflection and repetition (Backhouse et al., 2017;Lyon et al., 2013), and visualisation (Pandey & Zimitat, 2007) should be incorporated and emphasised within any artistic learning approach. Haptic (Jones, Minogue, ...

show abstract

Spatial abilities of expert clinical anatomists: Comparison of abilities between novices, intermediates, and experts in anatomy

Cited by 59 publications

References 39 publications

Learning anatomy enhances spatial ability

Learning anatomy enhances spatial ability

Effect of visual–spatial ability on medical students' performance in a gross anatomy course

Twelve tips for implementing artistic learning approaches in anatomy education

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About