The role of Moodle-based surgical skills illustrations using 3D animation in undergraduate training

Abstract

Background. Teaching undergraduate surgical skills using plain models without detailed anatomy and text presentations lacks detail, and there is a need to explore other teaching methods. Objective. To establish whether there is a difference in the satisfaction level and understanding between students taught using 3D animation v. traditional methods. Methods. This was a randomised comparative study conducted over 1 year. Participants were third- and fifth-year undergraduate medical students who provided informed consent. They were randomly assigned to the 3D animation and traditional teaching groups. The animated procedures, the pre- and post-tests and the survey were hosted on Moodle. The difference between pre- and post-test scores is termed the impact score. The independent samples t -test was used to determine the significance of the difference in the impact scores of the two groups. Results. Forty-five fifth-year students participated in 3 skills illustrations and 45 third-year students participated in 2 skills illustrations, giving a total of 225 data points. 3D animation teaching is associated with better understanding than traditional teaching ( t (223)=6.701; p <0.001) (experimental group, mean 3.11; control group, mean 1.51). Traditional teaching was given a median rating of 5 (good) and a mode of 4 (average) v. a median and a mode of 8 (excellent) for 3D animation teaching on a scale of 1 - 10 (worst - superb). However, the combination of the two teaching methods was given a mode and a median of 10 (superb). All students recommended the adoption of 3D animation. Conclusion. Students have a better understanding and higher satisfaction levels when taught using 3D animation.