A Comparison of Theoretical and Practical Approaches to the Teaching of Anatomy at " Universidade Eduardo Mondlane" in Mozambique
Date
2000
Authors
Rodrigues, M,A,F.
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Abstract
During the academic year of 1997/98, two randomised groups of second year medical students at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo learned gross anatomy of the limbs and the trunk by different teaching approaches. One group (A) dissected the thorax for 5 weeks according to an experimental programme, while the other (group B) worked on the same topic in the traditional way at UEM, which excluded dissection. The groups learned the abdomen by reversing the methods. For the study of the limbs, all the students learned the upper limbs by using the traditional approach while the lower limbs were dissected. Study guides were supplied to the Experimental Group and each of the practical classes started with a ten-minute preparatory tutorial when the structures to be studied were discussed. The same amount of time and the same background were given to both groups. At the end of the semester all students were examined by written and practical tests. The mean differences in the tests were statistically significant (p<0.001) only in the case of the practical test on the anatomy of the limbs, favouring the Experimental Group. Pre-questionnaires and post-questionnaires were completed before and after the experimentation. The combination of lectures, tutorials and dissection was the most preferred teaching approach. The students’ comments indicated that they felt that dissection enhanced the learning despite the short time devoted to it. On the other hand, students felt that dissection can enhance other skills which will be very useful later in pathology and surgery, for example in a way not possible to achieve by means of tutorials, or even prosections. Therefore, these results suggest that dissection could be a useful complementary teaching approach in addition to lectures and tutorials in Anatomy at UEM
Description
Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine
Johannesburg, 2000