Meme-Based Learning in Neuroanatomy: A Comparative Study on Effectiveness, Gender, and Student Performance Levels

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Neuroscience Education
• Instructional Design

Background:

• Generation Z students present unique educational needs and challenges.
• Gamification, an instructional design approach, integrates game elements into education.
• Traditional neuroanatomy teaching methods may not fully engage contemporary students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a meme-based teaching approach on neuroanatomy learning.
• To compare the effectiveness of meme-based learning with traditional methods.
• To explore the influence of gender and academic level on learning outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Third-year medical students created memes for neuroanatomy comprehension and retention.
• Exam questions were categorized as meme-related or non-meme-related for analysis.
• Performance was compared between meme-based and traditional methods, and across gender and academic levels.

Main Results:

• Both male and female students showed significant performance improvement on meme-based material.
• Lower-achieving students, both male and female, demonstrated considerable gains.
• High-achieving males showed significant improvement, while high-achieving females did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions:

• A meme-based approach significantly improved neuroanatomy grades compared to traditional methods.
• The positive impact of meme-based learning was more pronounced in lower-achieving students and males.
• Further multicenter studies are needed to verify the preliminary findings on gender-based effects.