64 - Chaotic Fun! Promoting Active Recall of Anatomical Structures and Their Relationships Using the Catch-Phrase Game

Poster Board Number: 64
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : INTRODUCTION: Retrieval practice, the act of recalling knowledge from memory, and gamification, the application of game elements to learning, are well-established as effective strategies for learning gross anatomy. An activity that applies both principles is Catch-Phrase, a fast-paced word guessing game that requires players to recall specific details associated with a term. The goal of this study was to adapt the game, Catch-Phrase, for anatomy education to leverage the educational benefits of retrieval practice and gamification for doctoral-level allied health students before high-stakes assessments.

METHODS: All allied health students in a dissection-based gross anatomy course were invited to play Anatomy Catch-Phrase during the review sessions held before the four corresponding high-stakes exams. In Anatomy Catch-Phrase, players must get their teammates to identify as many anatomical terms as they can in one minute by describing a term’s features, functions, or relationships, and without saying the term itself. Once a teammate guesses the term, players switch roles and continue play with the next term(s) until time runs out. The team that is able to guess the most terms wins. Terms were selected based on the highest yield anatomical structures from the course. To incentivize students to play, an extra credit prize was offered to the team with the highest score. Upon immediate completion of the first exam, following the first review session that included Anatomy Catch-Phrase, a seven-question, paper evaluation was distributed to the students. Responses were then analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: A total of 18 dissection lab groups (86%) played at least one round of Anatomy Catch-Phrase during the semester, with many groups playing multiple times. After the first exam, 73 students (60%) completed the evaluation. On a five-point scale, most students indicated they enjoyed Anatomy Catch-Phrase (4.3±0.9), highly recommended it to their peers (4.2±0.9), and wanted to play it in future Blocks of the course (4.3±1.0). Most students also found the game to be relevant to the course material (4.5±0.8), useful for reviewing anatomy (3.9±0.9), and helped reinforce their knowledge of anatomical relationships (3.9±0.9). Ultimately, Anatomy Catch-Phrase was highly rated, with a score of 4.3±0.9. Multiple students also provided enthusiastic unsolicited comments, such as “LOVED IT! A fun way to study anatomy! :)”.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, Anatomy Catch-Phrase was well-received by allied health students and perceived as a fun, effective activity for reviewing anatomical structures and relationships relevant to the course. While not specifically explored, this activity may foster positive relationships among dissection group members and provide an opportunity for stress relief ahead of high-stakes assessments. However, further study is required in these areas, as well as whether it truly improves student learning or exam performance.

SIGNIFICANCE: In courses that employ high-stakes assessments, engaging, fun activities that review the material and foster positive dissection group relationships may be beneficial to students.