Lecture classes in human anatomy: the students' perceptions.

INTRODUCTION The human anatomy, or in brief, the body structure has fascinated man for ages. Due to the information explosion and the increase in specializations, this knowledge is available in a very sketchy manner in high school biology courses. The first comprehensive course on the human anatomy is taught to the first year medical students in medical colleges. This is in keeping with the regulations of the Medical Council of India. The anatomy lecture classes occupy a considerable time of the course, to provide the students with an effective knowledge of the gross anatomy, histology, embryology and the clinical anatomy. On the other hand, the students' feedback regarding the lecture methods and the teaching environment is crucial in judging the efficacy of the present curriculum. OBJECTIVE To obtain the students' feedback about the environment of the lecture classes, as regards the venue, the teaching and learning aids which are used, the lecture class schedule of the university (the number of classes per week, the durations of the lecture classes, etc.) and the existing departmental practices (display of the class routine in advance, synchronization between the lecture and the practical classes), so that their suggestions could help the faculty in planning the most effective teaching procedures. METHODS A semi structured questionnaire was supplied to the students to get their feedback. RESULT Most of the students found the air conditioned seminar room's environment to be more comfortable and they supported the existing durations of the lecture hours with the combined use of chalk and a board and overhead projectors (OHPs). CONCLUSION The perceptions of the learners helped in modifying the departmental practice in the desired way.