Replicating Anatomical Teaching Specimens Using 3D Modeling Embedded Within a Multimodal e-Learning Course: Pre-Post...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cardiovascular Anatomy
• Digital Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional anatomy education, limiting access to cadavers for medical students.
• Interactive 3D models of congenital heart defects were utilized in a custom e-learning course to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a multimodal e-learning course on congenital heart disease (CHD) knowledge acquisition in first-year medical students.
• To assess student attitudes and experiences with the multimodal e-learning format.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post study design was employed with 290 first-year medical students.
• Data collection included pre- and post-course test scores, student attitudes, experiences, completion times, and browser metadata.
• 141 students were included in the final analysis.

Main Results:

• Student knowledge scores significantly improved by an average of 44.6% (P<.001).
• A high percentage of students reported motivation (88.3%) and positive experiences (93.5%) with the e-learning course.
• Strong correlation found between attitudes and experiences (r_s=0.687; P<.001), but not with test score changes.

Conclusions:

• Multimodal e-learning presents a viable solution for enhancing learning outcomes and experiences in anatomy education, especially when cadaver access is limited.
• Further research is recommended to validate the long-term learning effects of such e-learning interventions.