Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 4-30-2024
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Carol Britson
Second Advisor
Josh Schmerge
Third Advisor
Derek Bruff
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Madeline Hinton: Spatial Ability Tests and Course Performance in Human Anatomy and Physiology I Students
(Under the direction of Dr. Carol Britson)
Visuospatial perception processing is our ability to make inferences about what an object might look like from different angles just by looking at one angle of the object or by looking at a two-dimensional representation of it. This is a skill tested on the perceptual ability portion of the Dental Admissions Test (DAT), and it is also crucial for Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP) students to be proficient in this skill in order to successfully navigate the organ systems of the human body. This study assesses students’ visuospatial perception processing skills over the course of a semester by presenting them with questions from the DAT, including angle ranking, top-front-end, cube counting, and hole punching questions, and comparing their results with HAP test averages. HAP is well known for being one of the more challenging courses taken by students at the University of Mississippi who are pursuing careers in healthcare. I want to better understand the relation between visual perception and anatomical understanding so that I can help students study more effectively and help instructors better understand the way their students learn. We found a relationship between PAT averages and HAP test averages for multiple testing sessions and many students reported having a better understanding of anatomical relationships after practicing their visual perception and mental rotation skills.
Recommended Citation
Hinton, Madeline, "Spatial Ability Tests and Course Performance in Human Anatomy and Physiology I Students" (2024). Honors Theses. 3116.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3116
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