Data Blitz & Poster Presentations

Katelyn Wood, Paul Mensink, Sean McWatt
The University of Western Ontario

Anatomy education, by nature, can be difficult for students to learn and understand, highlighting the need for advanced teaching methods and a commitment to improve students’ capacity for learning. The gold standard for anatomy education is cadaveric dissection and/or pro-section. However, cadavers are not readily available in all departments. The Faculty of Health Sciences at Western University does not have access to cadavers for student learning, so anatomy has traditionally been taught using 2D images, including textbooks and lecture slides, as well as 3D plastinated models. However, these can be unrealistic, degrade over time, and require a significant amount of intrinsic student motivation to learn. Our study explores the use of digital tools for anatomy education. This innovation holds significant promise for enhancing undergraduate education in anatomy. Our study aims to explore the benefits of using digital tools alongside traditional teaching methods.

Linda Wu, Rabbea Sidhu, Malak Aiad, Sorin Darie, Nyssa Rousta, Alex Cen, Ryan Phan, Jessica Gu, Josh P. Mitchell, Bruce Wainman, Danielle Brewer-Deluce
McMaster University

Virtual reality (VR) gained interest in anatomy education, yet it remains unclear if knowledge acquired in VR transfers to physical (PH) testing environments. Transfer-appropriate processing (TAP) suggests test performance is enhanced when learning and testing environments match. This study investigates the transferability of anatomical knowledge acquired in VR or PH environments to both testing environments. A cohort of 154 participants without anatomical knowledge was randomized into VR or PH groups. Both groups completed a pre-test, a learning phase, and two post-tests (one in VR and one in PH) in randomized order to measure knowledge transfer between modalities. Preliminary analysis of 89 participants showed an 8% decrease in post-test scores when learning in VR and testing in PH. VR-acquired knowledge transfers to VR tests but not to PH tests, while PH-acquired knowledge transfers effectively to both testing environments. Therefore, VR is a viable testing modality but should not replace PH learning.

Samantha Gauvreau & Karl Szpunar
Toronto Metropolitan University

Interpolated testing, which involves interspersing extended sequences of study with opportunities to retrieve information, is posited to promote learning via the integration of knowledge across the study sequence. In the present study, learners studied 3 lists of words in anticipation of two final cumulative recall tests. After each list, learners either recalled the list (tested condition), restudied the list (restudy condition), or completed an unrelated math distractor task (control condition). For the first cumulative recall test, testing and restudy resulted in higher recall than the control condition. However, testing was differentiated from both restudy and control by higher semantic organization. Notably, whereas overall recall did not improve across the two cumulative recall tests, all participants showed organizational improvements during their second cumulative recall test indicating that exposure to testing may optimize learning by promoting meaningful connections between related concepts across separate segments of study.

Ian Lumb
York University

“Create” occupies the apex of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Thus, Bloom’s revised framework acknowledges generating, planning, and producing as the ultimate demonstration of mastery in the learning process. Although only one of the six levels of cognitive processing, creativity has the most innate potential to contribute to learning. By codifying the four stages into preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification, Wallas incorporated the role of consciousness into the creative process almost a century ago. Non-major, first-year undergraduate students in geoscience courses were required to capture questions while engaging in self-guided field work. By self-reporting context, a crude means for estimating their conscious engagement became available. Findings here indicate the occurrence of questions when students were not consciously engaged in their coursework. Thus, well-established techniques from knowledge graphs are being applied to better quantify relationships latent in the data. The approach may surface indirect evidence for non-conscious cognitive processing during the learning process.

Silvia Shiwei Zhou, Jonathan Smallwood, & Jeffrey D. Wammes
Queen’s University

Attentional states are critical in dictating effective learning. Yet, beyond on- versus off-task states, the role of nuanced thought features (e.g., valence, modality, self) remains unclear, despite that not all forms of off-task thoughts hinder learning. In this work, using multidimensional experience sampling, we densely sampled students’ thought patterns via thought probes at the beginning and end of a semester, both in class and across various contexts in daily life. Throughout each class, we also periodically probed students’ engagement level. To assess learning outcomes, we retrieved students’ grades on all assessments. We found that in-class engagement is linked to more ‘detailed deliberate’, and less ‘positive intrusive’ thoughts. Among in-lecture ratings, ‘detailed deliberate’ thinking predicted better lab grades, but engagement did not. Notably, higher- relative to lower-performing students reported thought patterns while doing homework that more closely resembled their thoughts during lectures, highlighting the importance of daily cognition in academic success.

Katelyn Wood, Paul Mensink, Sean McWatt
The University of Western Ontario

Linda Wu, Rabbea Sidhu, Malak Aiad, Sorin Darie, Nyssa Rousta, Alex Cen, Ryan Phan, Jessica Gu, Josh P. Mitchell, Bruce Wainman, Danielle Brewer-Deluce
McMaster University

Samantha Gauvreau & Karl Szpunar
Toronto Metropolitan University

Ian Lumb
York University

Silvia Shiwei Zhou, Jonathan Smallwood, & Jeffrey D. Wammes
Queen’s University

Melissa Gallina, Monica Palkowski, Kristin Taylor, John Maclachlan
McMaster University

Frank Serafino, Saidas Ranade (Schneider Electric/AVEVA), Lucas Grosso (Schneider Electric/AVEVA), Thomas E. Marlin, Jake Nease
McMaster University

Hannah Bridgman, Joseph A. Kim, Michelle L. Cadieux
McMaster University

Veronica Cui, Noor Butt, Megan Cerilli, Atara Lipetz, Elizabeth Canning, Faria Sana, & Joseph A. Kim
McMaster University

Mrinalini Sharma, Yutian Ma, Joseph Kim, Faria Sana
McMaster University

Alex Cen, Nyssa Rousta, Sorin Darie, Ryan Phan, Jessica Gu, Rabbea Sidhu, Malak Aiad, Linda Wu, Josh P. Mitchell, Bruce Wainman, Danielle Brewer-Deluce
McMaster University

Ryan Phan, Jessica Gu, Sorin Darie, Rabbea Sidhu, Alex Cen, Nyssa Rousta, Malak Aiad, Linda Wu, Josh P. Mitchell, Danielle Brewer-Deluce, Bruce C. Wainman
McMaster University

Luca Bernardini, Miriam Goldstein, Zoya Adeel, Kate Brown, Lee de Bie Das, & Katie Moisse
McMaster University

Lina Deker and Thanujeni Pathman
York University