Centre for Health Professions Education

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Browsing Centre for Health Professions Education by Subject "Anatomy, Artistic -- Study and teaching"

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    Students' perceptions of anatomy as expressed through drawings
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-12) Schabort, Desire; Leibowitz, Brenda; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Centre for Health Professions Education.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Anatomy remains a foundational subject in the preclinical years of medical and other allied health sciences courses, with exceptionally large volumes of content, and a unique practical aspect: conducting cadaveric dissection and the use of pre-dissected cadaver specimens. The educational climate can be set by incorporating a suitable introduction to the subject, addressing academically and emotionally underprepared students before the formal commencement of the Anatomy curriculum. The literature does not mention what such an Introduction Module should entail. Quantitative means such as questionnaires have been used to evaluate the perceptions and the emotional and psychological influence of Anatomy. It is often assumed that through words meaning is conveyed, providing researchers with data that can be objectively interpreted. But questionnaires are rather pre-emptive of what students might say about what they experience, and the number of possible answers is restricted. The use of drawings might be an opportunity for the students to express their unmediated feelings; strong emotions could appear in the form of images instead of words, allowing students to experience rather than verbalize feelings especially with a limited vocabulary. Qualitative data analysis enables the researcher to get at complex layers of meaning, interprets human behaviour and experiences beyond the surface appearance, provides rich evidence of this behaviour and/or experiences and consequently builds theory inductively from the data source. The primary purpose of this study is to establish the feasibility of using drawings to explore how a diverse group of students from the University of Limpopo, Medunsa Campus, view Anatomy and what insights can be gained from these drawings to inform the Introduction Module. Students were asked to draw their perceptions of Anatomy after approximately 10 weeks of allocated contact time, which includes lectures as well as practical sessions. A total of 74% (134 out of 181) drawings were handed in. A matrix-type method of analysis based on existing literature was formulated to analyse the drawings. Three dimensions were identified for each of the drawings: “what” is illustrated, then “how” is the message conveyed or illustrated, and lastly, the “emotion” communicated through the drawing. The reliability was increased with two interpreters who analysed the drawings. Learning approaches, orientation on human life and death, the general emotional state of individuals influenced by Anatomy, their course of study, the influence of family and friends are some of the aspects that were depicted in the drawings. The rich data encountered through the drawings provided curriculum organisers with insights enabling them to implement necessary changes to the Introduction Module in order to improve student preparedness for what is to follow during the Anatomy curriculum. Further studies are recommended on how student drawings can be utilised to inform curricula and in other educational contexts.