Drawing is an important tool to learn context-based histology in an integrated undergraduate medical curriculum

Abstract

Objectives: Todetermine if learning histology by drawing is superior to learning by looking through a microscope only. Methods: Second year MBBS students were divided by simple random sampling into Groups A and B. Each group comprised 50 students. This mixed-methods study was conducted in an 8-week module. For the first 4 weeks, students in Group A learned histology by drawing, whereas Group B learned by seeing the text andmicroscopic images. For the last 4 weeks, groups were swapped by crossover design. The impact of learning by drawing was assessed by multiple choice question (MCQ) test I and test II at the end of 4 and 8weeks, respectively. Statistical analyses of the data were conducted with SPSS version 23. The scores obtained in test I and test IIwere analyzed by the independent samples t-test. The paired samples t-test was applied to scores obtained by the same subject when they learned with drawing and no drawing strategies. To assess the impact of drawing on learning histology, a focus group study was conducted in six participants selected by purposive sampling. Responses to the semi-structured interview questions were analyzed by qualitative research techniques of coding, categorizing, and generation of themes. Results: The independent samples t-test showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores obtained by Groups A and B in test I and test II. However, there was a statistically significant difference when the subject learned histology by drawing compared to no drawing, as shown by the paired samples t-test. The results from the focus group study revealed that drawing had a positive impact on knowledge retention and understanding the basic concepts of histology for its application in the clinical context. Conclusion: Drawing-based learning in histology helps with the application of basic knowledge in the clinical context.