Is clay modelling an appropriate teaching tool for laryngeal anatomy? A pilot study of 16 medical students

BackgroundIn an era where ENT educators face reduced teaching hours alongside a limited selection of interactive pedagogical tools, laryngeal anatomy remains a difficult topic to teach medical students. A comparative pilot study was performed to investigate the aptness of clay models as a teaching tool in the undergraduate ENT setting.MethodsSixteen medical students were recruited. Students were assigned to prosections (n = 8) or clay models (n = 8); and tasked to identify or model laryngeal structures. Participants were examined using a pre- and post-test multiple-choice questionnaire. Feedback was obtained via a 5-scale Likert questionnaire. To investigate the impact of student learning approaches on assessment, the ASSIST questionnaire was used.ResultsClay modelling students performed better on post-test than their prosection counterparts (mean: 14.37 vs 13.62; <i>p</i> = 0.67), whilst surface learners (<i>n</i> = 7) achieved higher scores on post-test compared to their strategic counterparts (<i>n</i> = 9; <i>p</i> = 0.87). Findings were not statistically significant. Feedback indicated higher levels of satisfaction in students allocated to clay models, whilst usefulness was perceived more by those in the prosection group.ConclusionClay modelling is an enjoyable teaching tool which yields comparable scores to prosections on assessment. Educators may use this tool to improve interactivity and accommodate for contact free teaching requirements.