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Table 2 Student motivation in relation to competence

From: Elective anatomy by whole body dissection course: what motivates students?

THEMES RELATING TO COMPETENCE

STUDENT COMMENTS

The interactions with supervisors that provided a clinical context, and the 3D structures helped to develop student competence.

“The supervision and teaching methods help to correct any misconception you may have after studying the textbook”.

Fantastic teaching with fantastic clinical insights. The teaching methods of questioning relevant material and a Socratic approach to clinical reasoning was hugely beneficial”.

“ Reading the material in the books helps you become familiar with the terminology but seeing it all in 3D in the cadaver helped me really understand the anatomy and its relation to each other”.

Supervisors were careful to match their level of teaching to the level of student ability. At the same time, however, supervisors had high expectations of students.

“Teachers have the ability to be flexible and adapt your methods to the strengths of your team”.

“All of the supervisors, demonstrators and past students were very positive in their approach, but also expected a lot. This makes the course a big challenge, but an achievable and very positive one and brings the group of students and teachers closer together”.

Students found a sense of accomplishment in helping each other.

“The group learning was valuable as all members in the team had different levels of knowledge to begin with and different areas of key interest. As a result we were able to assist each other and provide clinical detail to the anatomy as well. I think this was one of the strongest components that helped to facilitate my learning”.

“There is a real atmosphere of teamwork and team achievement, especially regarding exam results with students cheering each other's success”.

Frequent and early assessment, and immediate feedback allowed students to identify their own weaknesses early, benchmark against each other, allow reflection, and target areas for improvement.

“At a very early stage my weaknesses were made very clear through assessment. Reflection and motivation at this early stage gave me a realistic opportunity to address them and improve (before it was too late). Each assessment gave me a clear unbiased appreciation of my progress and directed my future learning for the next element”.

“Frequent assessment is AMAZING. You are constantly refreshing and testing your knowledge. Marks are made public, so there is a sense of competition and you constantly try to get the top mark. Public marks motivate me to study harder. The tutors are frank when you don't know things you should but give praise when its warranted”.

The constant repetition of questions, lectures, exams and SCORPIOS helped students to remember.

“Repeated questioning. Repeated examinations. Repeated SCORPIOs. ‘Repetition is the mother of learning’ “

“Constant repetition during tutes, lectures, and SCORPIOs really helped cement things in my brain. Having tutors roam around different tables, giving mini-tutes and asking questions ensured that by the end of the day I usually felt I had learnt a substantial amount of anatomy and more importantly that I would not forget it easily”.

The daily SCORPIOs consolidated the students’ knowledge, identify gaps in learning, and directed learning towards what was important to learn.

“The SCORPIOs at the end of the day were an excellent way to demonstrate and reinforce knowledge gained, plus they highlight the key surgical take home points in a competitive yet non-stressful environment….directed my attention to what was most important to understand”.

“SCORPIO at the end of the days helped to consolidate learning and showed me what I understood and where the gaps are. Being asked questions repeatedly is a great way to find out what you do or do not know”.