In the Medical Teaching Unit (MTU), human brain anatomy is taught via practical dissection to a very large numbers of students. Annually, within the Medical School alone, this includes 256 medical students (>300 following course expansion in September 2019) and around 90 MSc and PhD students.
A number of factors can have a negative impact on the quality of the learning experience which individual students receive, including i) the quality of brain preservation after embalming; ii) that individual demonstrators differ in their teaching experience and style; iii) that a group teaching session in the MTU is not the best environment in which to first encounter specific anatomical detail; and iv) further dissection is not available for later revision purposes.
Furthermore, we are launching a post-graduate distance-learning programme in Neuroscience in 2019/20, for which all students will require good knowledge of neuroanatomy. To address these issues, we have made a learning resource consisting of more than 60 short videos capturing the most important aspects of the practical brain dissection, using fantastically well-preserved specimens and some of our most experienced demonstrators. By augmenting face-to-face teaching and the existing written handbook with rich media, students are better prepared for each session, potentially leading to more active participation in the dissection and an enhanced learning experience catering for a greater diversity of learning styles. In the session, we will outline our experience creating resources with Kaltura and Xerte that can be adapted for multiple programmes of study and hosted on different virtual learning environments, and report initial student feedback.