** Poster Award Nominee
NEUROANATOMY LABORATORY STUDENT-FACULTY INTERACTION: STUDENT SATISFACTION WITH ALTERNATE SUPERVISORY METHODS
Maria Thomadaki, D.C.1*, Department of Basic Sciences, Judy Silvestrone, M.S., D.C.1, Dean, Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, U.S.A., Jeanmarie Burke, Ph.D. 1, Dean, Departments of Basic Sciences and Research.
1 New York Chiropractic College, Seneca Falls, NY, 13148 U.S.A.
Purpose
Student performance in neuroscience laboratory examinations has been constant over time, but anecdotally, students appeared to be more satisfied with their learning experience when they felt attended to by instructors. Engagement and satisfaction with the learning environment is perceived to be important for long term retention of material by students. A change in laboratory supervision of students was implemented to assess if student satisfaction could be improved.
Methods
Neuroscience laboratories operate with small groups of students (5-8) instructors assigned at an 8:1 student faculty ratio. In the first half of the course, instructors only approached groups when called upon by students, which was consistent with our previous instructional model. In the second half of the course, instructors were assigned, on a rotating basis, to student groups. The students were surveyed, using simple categorical rating scales before and after the implementation of the faculty rotation schedule, to evaluate if student satisfaction with the learning experience could be altered greater consistency in faculty attention.
Results
There were significant shifts in the distributions of students’ satisfaction with the overall quality of instruction (a 20% increase, p < .003) and the amount of interaction with the faculty (a 32% increase, p < .003) following the implementation of the faculty rotation schedule.
Conclusion
Assigning instructors to student groups on a rotating basis, engaged both the faculty members and the students, and allowed for a better overall learning experience. This model has been adopted by Neuroscience laboratories to improve the overall quality of instruction.