Article: An analysis of the educational value of low-fidelity anatomy models as external representations

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TitleAn analysis of the educational value of low-fidelity anatomy models as external representations
AuthorsChan, LK1
Cheng, MMW2
Issue Date2011
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.. The Journal's web site is located at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1935-9780/issues/
CitationAnatomical Sciences Education, 2011, v. 4 n. 5, p. 256-263 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ase.239
AbstractAlthough high-fidelity digital models of human anatomy based on actual cross-sectional images of the human body have been developed, reports on the use of physical models in anatomy teaching continue to appear. This article aims to examine the common features shared by these physical models and analyze their educational value based on the literature on cognition, learning, and external representations. A literature search on these physical models in three popular anatomy journals published over a 10-year period from 2001 to 2010 found that all of them have low fidelity: they oftentimes do not closely resemble the regions of the human body they are representing. They include only a small number of the structures that exist in these regions of the human body and do not accurately represent the shape and surface details of these structures. However, these models strongly correspond to the human body in the spatial relationship of the represented structures, which is crucial to achieving their educational purpose of teaching three-dimensional comprehension and anatomical reasoning. The educational value of these models includes acting as memory aids, reducing cognitive overload, facilitating problem solving, and arousing students' enthusiasm and participation. Because these models often lack a close resemblance to the human body, their use in anatomy teaching should always be accompanied by adequate explanations to the students to establish the correspondence between the models and the parts of the human body they are representing.
ISSN1935-9772
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.078
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ase.239
ReferencesReferences in Scopus
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.authorChan, LK
dc.contributor.authorCheng, MMW
dc.date.accessioned2012-07-16T09:51:35Z
dc.date.available2012-07-16T09:51:35Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractAlthough high-fidelity digital models of human anatomy based on actual cross-sectional images of the human body have been developed, reports on the use of physical models in anatomy teaching continue to appear. This article aims to examine the common features shared by these physical models and analyze their educational value based on the literature on cognition, learning, and external representations. A literature search on these physical models in three popular anatomy journals published over a 10-year period from 2001 to 2010 found that all of them have low fidelity: they oftentimes do not closely resemble the regions of the human body they are representing. They include only a small number of the structures that exist in these regions of the human body and do not accurately represent the shape and surface details of these structures. However, these models strongly correspond to the human body in the spatial relationship of the represented structures, which is crucial to achieving their educational purpose of teaching three-dimensional comprehension and anatomical reasoning. The educational value of these models includes acting as memory aids, reducing cognitive overload, facilitating problem solving, and arousing students' enthusiasm and participation. Because these models often lack a close resemblance to the human body, their use in anatomy teaching should always be accompanied by adequate explanations to the students to establish the correspondence between the models and the parts of the human body they are representing.
dc.description.natureLink_to_subscribed_fulltext
dc.identifier.citationAnatomical Sciences Education, 2011, v. 4 n. 5, p. 256-263 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ase.239
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ase.239
dc.identifier.epage263
dc.identifier.hkuros201856
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000294987200003
dc.identifier.issn1935-9772
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.078
dc.identifier.issue5
dc.identifier.pmid21744512
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-80052689733
dc.identifier.spage256
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/152919
dc.identifier.volume4
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.. The Journal's web site is located at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1935-9780/issues/
dc.publisher.placeUnited States
dc.relation.ispartofAnatomical Sciences Education
dc.relation.referencesReferences in Scopus
dc.rightsAnatomical Sciences Education. Copyright © John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
dc.subject.meshAnatomy - education
dc.subject.meshHumans
dc.subject.meshModels, Anatomic
dc.titleAn analysis of the educational value of low-fidelity anatomy models as external representations
dc.typeArticle
Author Affiliations
  1. The University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
  2. The University of Hong Kong