Author(s): Samuel Villicana, Mary Nieves
Mentor(s):
Institution SUU
Human anatomy is a demanding, content-intensive course in which students often encounter difficulties in identifying effective study practices. The same study practices that work best for one student, may not be the same that works the best for another student. The same can be said about course content; what study practices a student uses for learning bone structures may be different from what that student would use to study muscle origins and insertions. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how students’ study practices change throughout the semester depending on exam content, with a particular focus on the comparative effectiveness of digital versus traditional study practices. This multi-semester study occurred within a 15-week human anatomy course at a primarily undergraduate institution in Utah. Our research question was: over the course of the semester, how does the perceived effectiveness of digital study practices compare to traditional study practices among anatomy students? Data for this study have been collected with questionnaires administered following three exams over the course of the semester and a cumulative final exam. These questionnaires solicited detailed information on students’ study practices, including digital resources (e.g., internet searches, Quizlet, educational videos) and traditional methods (e.g., note review, flashcards, study groups, labeling, and lab manual use). Students were asked to rank their top three study practices for each exam and explain their rationale. The findings will have significant implications for optimizing study practices, improving student success and improving retention in courses like human anatomy. Data analysis is currently ongoing.