Influence of faculty organised revision sessions on anatomy assessment results

Goran Štrkalj*, Joyce El-Haddad, Anneliese Hulme, Mitchell Morfea, Stephanie Marhoff-Beard, Mirjana Štrkalj

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Background: Introductory anatomy courses present challenges for educators at many institutions as they frequently comprise large numbers of students with dissimilar levels of preparedness, belonging to different academic programs. Setting: At Macquarie University, Introduction to Anatomy course enrolls students belonging to four different faculties and programs ranging from health professions to law and archaeology. The failure rate has traditionally been quite high, with two practical tests (mid and end of the semester) being particularly challenging. Several strategies have been employed to improve students’ performance. Intervention: In 2018, a week before each practical test, revision sessions were introduced, where attendance was optional. These four-hour sessions were amalgams of traditional teaching and peer-assisted learning. This study aimed to assess the value of revision sessions by comparing the test results of students who attended and those who did not. Outcome measure: Marks attained in the practical test. Results: A total of 598 students were enrolled in the course in 2018, of which 162 (27.1%) attended revision session 1 and 177 (29.6%) session 2. The average mark for practical test 1 for students who attended revision sessions was 78.8% and 74.6% in test 2, while those who did not attend achieved 61.8% and 54.5% respectively. Differences in marks for both tests were statistically significant (p <0.05). Conclusion: As there were no other changes in course delivery it can be hypothesized that revision sessions contributed to better practical test performance in 2018. These findings appear to corroborate previous research suggesting that systematic and focused revision sessions improve results in anatomy assessments.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8415-8418
Number of pages4
JournalInternational Journal of Anatomy and Research
Volume10
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2022

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2022. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • anatomy education
  • assessment
  • knowledge retention
  • revision

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