The association between medical students' learning resource usage and examination performance in an integrated Human
Leslie A Hoffman1, Andrew S Cale2, Margaret A McNulty2
1Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.
Anatomical Sciences Education
|November 21, 2025
Summary
Medical students find self-assessment resources most helpful for learning anatomy. Lower-performing students use these resources less, potentially hindering their ability to identify knowledge gaps and improve study strategies.
Area of Science:
- Anatomical Sciences Education
- Medical Education Research
Background:
- Students face challenges selecting effective learning resources for anatomical sciences.
- Identifying optimal study resources is crucial for academic success in medical school.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the most beneficial learning resources for medical students in anatomy.
- To investigate the correlation between students' preferred resources and their examination performance.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed 2473 medical students (2016-2022) on preferred learning resources before examinations.
- Categorized resources and analyzed associations with performance using Chi-square tests.
- Grouped students into high, average, and low performers based on exam scores.
Main Results:
- Self-assessment resources (59.5%) and lecture materials (53.3%) were the most utilized.
- High performers (63.1%) and average performers (60.7%) used self-assessment resources more than low performers (50.7%).
- A year-over-year increase in self-assessment resource usage was observed.
Conclusions:
- Self-assessment resources are highly valued by medical students for anatomy learning.
- Lower utilization of self-assessment tools by underperforming students may indicate a lack of effective knowledge gap identification.
- Encouraging the use of self-assessment tools could improve learning strategies and outcomes for struggling students.
Keywords:
anatomy integrated courseslearning resourcesmedical educationmedical studentsself‐directed learningstudent performanceMore Related Videos
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