Evaluation of the Emergency Remote Learning of Veterinary Anatomy During the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Global Students’ Perspectives

Abstract

Purpose: The present study assessed the shift to remote teaching of veterinary anatomy during the COVID‐19 pandemic based on students’ perspectives. Methods: Participants were invited to answer an anonymous online Google Form questionnaire using the snowball sampling method. Only students who studied anatomy online during the COVID-19 lockdown period were eligible to answer the questionnaire. A mixed-method research design was used to evaluate students’ perspectives. Results: A total of 961 participants were enrolled in this study from 87 countries and six continents. Data showed that the majority of students (81.6%) were interested in studying anatomy online during the COVID-19 lockdown. Moreover, approximately 82% of students were comfortable with the technological skills, and approximately 61% of students can understand online anatomy well during the lockdown. Furthermore, approximately 52.76% of students believed that online learning of anatomy suited for theoretical, 8.74% believed that it suited for practical parts, and 30.28% believed that it suited for both theoretical and practical parts. On the contrary, about 36.63% of students thought that online learning of anatomy could replace face-to-face teaching. In conclusion, shifting to remote teaching appears to be a good and convenient approach during the lockdown period as shown by students’ interest to study anatomy online during the COVID-19 lockdown, their comfortability with the technological skills, and their level of understanding. However, practical classes with cadaver dissection and dealing with different anatomical specimens is essential for veterinary students; therefore, blended learning is recommended. Conclusion: The study highlighted several challenges associated with studying anatomy online during the lockdown period and recommendation to overcome these challenges.