Evaluating major curriculum changes: Ensuring a psychologically safe learning environment is achieved for graduate...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anatomy Pedagogy

Background:

• Graduate-level master's gross anatomy courses require effective curriculum delivery for student success.
• Traditional student evaluations (e.g., Likert scales) often lack nuanced insights into the learning environment.
• Written feedback analysis is an underutilized method for assessing educational environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the success of a newly revised gross anatomy curriculum.
• To determine if a safe learning environment was established using AI-powered sentiment analysis of student comments.
• To identify key factors contributing to a positive learning experience.

Main Methods:

• Implemented a revised curriculum for a graduate-level gross anatomy course.
• Collected end-of-course evaluations from 88 students.
• Utilized an AI-based text analysis tool to score sentiment and categorize themes within students' written feedback.

Main Results:

• Overall student evaluations were highly favorable following the curricular change.
• AI analysis identified critical themes in student feedback, including faculty availability, knowledge, humor, group dynamics, and sense of belonging.
• Sentiment data analysis provided nuanced insights beyond traditional quantitative measures.

Conclusions:

• The revised gross anatomy curriculum successfully fostered a safe and supportive learning environment.
• AI-driven analysis of qualitative feedback is a valuable tool for in-depth educational assessment.
• Key elements such as faculty interaction and peer belonging are crucial for establishing a positive learning atmosphere.