Student Experiential Activities: A Novel Strategy to Teach Neuroanatomy in Lectures

Introduction Activity-based teaching is a widely used pedagogical tool for enhancing anatomy learning. However, involving the learner in experiential activities in lectures is an unexplored area in medical research. The present study aims to determine whether incorporating student experiential activities into lectures impacts student's learning of neuroanatomy. Materials and methods We used a pre-test/post-test experimental study design to compare the learning outcome between the experiential activity based lecture and traditional lectures. We divided 150 students into control (75 students) and intervention groups (75 students). To assess the baseline knowledge on the subject, the students attended 20 clinical scenario-based multiple-choice questions two weeks before the lectures. Then, both groups attended two lecture sessions on the functional areas of the brain. In the control group, the students drew the boundaries of a particular cerebral area and labeled its function and clinical symptoms. In the intervention group, the learners participated in experiential activities while following the instructions. The lecturer used their response as a scaffold to explain the function and clinical correlation of a specific part of the cerebral cortex. The same test questions were given to the students one week after the final lecture session to evaluate their level of understanding. We analyzed the scores of 111 students (57 students in the control group and 54 students in the interventional group) who attended the two lectures and pre- and post-test sessions. Students also completed a validated 10-item feedback questionnaire regarding their perception of the teaching sessions. Results The mean score improvement for the control and intervention groups was 4.86 ± 1.53 and 6.39 ± 2.93, respectively. The score improvement of the activity group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p = 0.006; d = 0.65). The perception scores of interest, knowledge attainment, and satisfaction were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that experiential activities facilitate better comprehension of abstract neuroanatomical concepts as compared to traditional didactic teaching.