Enhancing human anatomy learning in medical students through personalized strategies and educational technology
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Date
2024
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Abstract
El estudio de la anatomía es de suma importancia, ya que es una materia fundamental para todas las carreras del área de ciencias de la salud. Todos los estudiantes de medicina deben aprender anatomía, independientemente de la especialidad que elijan. Esta relevancia implica que el entrenamiento constante en la identificación, reconocimiento, organización y análisis, estructural y organizacional del cuerpo humano a nivel macroscópico y microscópico, sea una de las actividades que requiere un nivel avanzado en el procesamiento de información y autorregulación por parte de los estudiantes. Las comunidades educativas, en su afán de adaptarse a los recursos tecnológicos educativos existentes, han tenido que enfrentar el desafío de cómo enseñar y aprender de manera efectiva estos complejos y detallados contenidos. En este contexto, esta investigación pretende obtener un mayor conocimiento sobre cómo implementar de manera efectiva estrategias didácticas adaptadas a los procesos metacognitivos de los estudiantes, utilizando herramientas de software educativas, y cómo esta combinación puede influir en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes del área de ciencias de la salud. Con tal fin, este trabajo propone la consecución de tres objetivos. El primer objetivo tiene que ver con identificar las funcionalidades de una herramienta de software basada en componentes gamificados que permitan mejorar el desempeño académico de los estudiantes de medicina. En este sentido, dentro del marco de esta tesis, se realizaron dos estudios
empíricos implementando una tecnología educativa gamificada al curso de primer año de anatomía humana de estudiantes de medicina. Como resultado, se logró obtener evidencias sobre las funcionalidades que facilitan el aprendizaje, sus efectos, e identificar la importancia de personalizar la experiencia de aprendizaje de los estudiantes. El segundo objetivo hace referencia a la necesidad de evaluar el impacto de la implementación de estrategias didácticas personalizadas utilizando una herramienta de software educativa gamificada con técnicas de inteligencia artificial, como sistemas de recomendación y asistentes virtuales como interfaz de comunicación. Se crearon nuevas funcionalidades de software para mejorar el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes de medicina. Se realizó un estudio comparado entre dos universidades chilenas. Los hallazgos encontrados fueron que el asistente virtual permitió realizar retroalimentación efectiva, aunque las predicciones realizadas por el sistema de recomendación no fueron personalizadas, por lo que se logró evidenciar una mejora incipiente en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes. El tercer objetivo implica examinar críticamente los resultados, situarlos en su contexto, examinar cómo se aplican en la práctica y en la teoría, y generar nuevas aportaciones al conocimiento existente mediante la personalización. En concreto se persigue respaldar la hipótesis de que la adaptación de las preguntas de contenido, teniendo en cuenta su dificultad y el dominio del estudiante, generando rutas de aprendizajes individualizadas, tiene un efecto positivo en el rendimiento académico y mejora la comprensión y retención de los conocimientos anatómicos. Para lograr esto, se realizaron dos estudios con estudiantes de anatomía humana de una universidad extranjera, cubriendo dos unidades de aprendizajes diferentes. Para la primera intervención se adaptaron las preguntas al dominio y dificultad, en relación con los perfiles metacognitivos de los estudiantes. En la segunda intervención se diseñaron rutas de aprendizaje individualizadas para cada estudiante. Esta personalización se llevó a cabo a través de una herramienta tecnológica educativa en el contexto específico del aprendizaje de la anatomía humana. Como resultado, se identificó que la adaptación de las preguntas de contenido, teniendo en cuenta su dominio y la dificultad, y el diseño de rutas de aprendizajes personalizadas a los perfiles metacognitivos de los estudiantes, contribuye a una mejora en el rendimiento académico, pero sobre todo permite a los docentes adecuar el contenido y las actividades didácticas a las necesidades individuales de los estudiantes de anatomía humana. Este trabajo aporta un enfoque novedoso y valioso al campo de la enseñanza de la anatomía en ciencias de la salud. Al destacar la importancia de las herramientas de software educativas y la metacognición, este trabajo ofrece una visión integral sobre cómo mejorar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes de medicina. Además, la personalización del contenido y las estrategias de adaptación individualizada demuestran ser factores relevantes para mejorar el rendimiento académico y la comprensión en esta disciplina crítica. Estos hallazgos no solo benefician a los educadores y estudiantes de medicina, sino que también tienen un alcance más amplio al resaltar la utilidad de la tecnología educativa en la educación y la importancia de abordar las necesidades individuales de los estudiantes en cualquier contexto educativo. En última instancia, esta investigación contribuye al avance de la enseñanza de la anatomía y la educación en ciencias de la salud en general, ofreciendo una perspectiva valiosa para la mejora continua de los métodos de enseñanza y aprendizaje en estas áreas críticas.
Anatomy is of utmost importance, as it is a fundamental subject for all health science careers. All medical students must learn anatomy, regardless of the specialty they choose. This relevance implies that constant training in the identification, recognition, organization, and analysis, structural and organizational, of the human body at the macroscopic and microscopic levels is one of the activities that require an advanced level of information processing and self-regulation on the part of students. In their eagerness to adapt to existing educational and technological resources, educational communities have been faced with the challenge of effectively teaching and learning these complex and detailed contents. In this context, this research aims to acquire knowledge about how to effectively implement didactic strategies tailored to students' metacognitive processes using educational software tools and how this combination can impact students' academic performance in the field of health sciences. To achieve this goal, this study establishes three objectives. The first objective involves identifying the features of a gamified software tool designed to enhance the academic performance of medical students. Two empirical studies were carried out in relation to this aim, introducing gamified educational technology in the first-year human anatomy course for medical students. As a result, evidence was obtained regarding the features that facilitated learning and their effects, highlighting the significance of personalizing students' learning experiences. The second objective is to assess the effects of implementing personalized instructional strategies through a gamified educational software tool incorporating artificial intelligence techniques, including recommender systems and virtual assistants, serving as a communication interface. This involved the development of new software features designed to enhance the academic performance of medical students. A comparative study was conducted involving two Chilean universities. The results revealed that the virtual assistant effectively provided feedback, although the predictions of the recommender system were not truly tailored to individuals. Nevertheless, there was evidence of ongoing improvement in students' academic performance. The third objective is to examine the results critically, place them in context, examine how they apply in practice and theory, and generate new contributions to existing knowledge through customization. These contributions support the hypothesis that modifying content-based questions, considering their level of difficulty and students' proficiency, to create personalized learning paths, has a positive impact on academic performance while enhancing comprehension and retention of anatomical knowledge. Two studies were carried out with students of human anatomy at an international university, covering different learning units. In the first intervention, questions were tailored to match students' metacognitive profiles, aligning these with the domain knowledge and the complexity of the material. In the second intervention, customized learning pathways were defined for each student utilizing an educational technology tool designed for human anatomy learning. Consequently, it was revealed that adapting content-related questions to the students' mastery and question difficulty, along with designing personalized learning pathways based on students' metacognitive profiles, not only enhances academic performance but also empowers educators to adjust content and teaching activities to meet the specific needs of their human anatomy students. This research work introduces a novel and valuable approach to teaching anatomy in the health sciences. It provides a comprehensive perspective to improve the learning experience of medical students, highlighting the importance of educational software tools and metacognition. In addition, the personalization of content and the implementation of individualized adaptive strategies emerge as relevant factors for improving academic performance and comprehension within this subject area. These findings are significant for medical educators and students, with broader implications that underscore the utility of educational technology in medical education and the need to address the unique needs of students in any educational context. Ultimately, this research advances the field of anatomy teaching and health sciences education, offering valuable insights for improving teaching and learning methodologies in these critical domains.
Anatomy is of utmost importance, as it is a fundamental subject for all health science careers. All medical students must learn anatomy, regardless of the specialty they choose. This relevance implies that constant training in the identification, recognition, organization, and analysis, structural and organizational, of the human body at the macroscopic and microscopic levels is one of the activities that require an advanced level of information processing and self-regulation on the part of students. In their eagerness to adapt to existing educational and technological resources, educational communities have been faced with the challenge of effectively teaching and learning these complex and detailed contents. In this context, this research aims to acquire knowledge about how to effectively implement didactic strategies tailored to students' metacognitive processes using educational software tools and how this combination can impact students' academic performance in the field of health sciences. To achieve this goal, this study establishes three objectives. The first objective involves identifying the features of a gamified software tool designed to enhance the academic performance of medical students. Two empirical studies were carried out in relation to this aim, introducing gamified educational technology in the first-year human anatomy course for medical students. As a result, evidence was obtained regarding the features that facilitated learning and their effects, highlighting the significance of personalizing students' learning experiences. The second objective is to assess the effects of implementing personalized instructional strategies through a gamified educational software tool incorporating artificial intelligence techniques, including recommender systems and virtual assistants, serving as a communication interface. This involved the development of new software features designed to enhance the academic performance of medical students. A comparative study was conducted involving two Chilean universities. The results revealed that the virtual assistant effectively provided feedback, although the predictions of the recommender system were not truly tailored to individuals. Nevertheless, there was evidence of ongoing improvement in students' academic performance. The third objective is to examine the results critically, place them in context, examine how they apply in practice and theory, and generate new contributions to existing knowledge through customization. These contributions support the hypothesis that modifying content-based questions, considering their level of difficulty and students' proficiency, to create personalized learning paths, has a positive impact on academic performance while enhancing comprehension and retention of anatomical knowledge. Two studies were carried out with students of human anatomy at an international university, covering different learning units. In the first intervention, questions were tailored to match students' metacognitive profiles, aligning these with the domain knowledge and the complexity of the material. In the second intervention, customized learning pathways were defined for each student utilizing an educational technology tool designed for human anatomy learning. Consequently, it was revealed that adapting content-related questions to the students' mastery and question difficulty, along with designing personalized learning pathways based on students' metacognitive profiles, not only enhances academic performance but also empowers educators to adjust content and teaching activities to meet the specific needs of their human anatomy students. This research work introduces a novel and valuable approach to teaching anatomy in the health sciences. It provides a comprehensive perspective to improve the learning experience of medical students, highlighting the importance of educational software tools and metacognition. In addition, the personalization of content and the implementation of individualized adaptive strategies emerge as relevant factors for improving academic performance and comprehension within this subject area. These findings are significant for medical educators and students, with broader implications that underscore the utility of educational technology in medical education and the need to address the unique needs of students in any educational context. Ultimately, this research advances the field of anatomy teaching and health sciences education, offering valuable insights for improving teaching and learning methodologies in these critical domains.
Description
Tesis (Doctor in Engineering Sciences)--Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 2024
Keywords
Aprendizaje de la Anatomía, Personalización, Perfil Metacognitivo, Tecnologías Educativas, Gamificación, Inteligencia Artificial, Anatomy Education, Personalization, Metacognitive Profile, Educational Technologies, Gamification, Artificial Intelligence