Non-Immersive Digital Technologies and Academic Motivation in Medical Anatomy Education: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

The integration of non-immersive digital technologies into anatomy education has expanded substantially; however, their relationship with students’ academic motivation remains underexplored. This study examined the association between two non-immersive instructional modalities (Sectra® Table and Complete Anatomy®) and academic motivation among medical students, framed within Keller’s ARCS model. An analytical cross-sectional quasi-experimental design was utilized with 109 participants, whose group allocation was determined by existing curricular organization (LMC13: Sectra® Table; LMC23: Complete Anatomy®). Academic motivation was assessed using the Reduced Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (RIMMS), which evaluates attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. Due to non-normal data distribution and variance heterogeneity, group differences were analyzed using permutation multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). The analysis revealed significant differences between instructional groups (R2 = 0.17, p = 0.001). Students in the Complete Anatomy® group reported higher motivational scores across domains, with the largest difference observed in confidence (R2 = 0.10). Although effect sizes were modest, the findings indicate that differences in accessibility and opportunities for autonomous interaction are related to variations in motivational engagement in technology-enhanced anatomy learning contexts. These results highlight the importance of considering motivational constructs when comparing instructional design approaches. Future longitudinal and controlled studies are needed to further examine these associations and their potential educational implications.