Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Contemporary Human Anatomy Education

Committee Director

Dr. Peggy Gesing

Committee Member

Dr. Melissa Haswell

Committee Member

Dr. Natascha Heise

Abstract

Online human anatomy and physiology (HA&P) courses require students to learn complex anatomical content outside of a physical laboratory environment, a challenge that may be supported by enhancing students’ perceptions of collaborative learning (CL) through the community of inquiry (CoI) framework. This convergent parallel mixed-methods study examined participants’ perceptions of the CoI framework during two discussion board (DB) activities in an online, asynchronous, noncredit HA&P I study course at a midwestern community college.

Participants were recruited via convenience sampling and randomly assigned to one of two instructional sequence groups (2-D→3-D or 3-D→2-D) to complete two DB activities requiring annotation of either 2-D anatomical model images or 3-D photogrammetric anatomical models (3-D PAMs). The quantitative component employed a crossover study design, using a modified CoI survey instrument administered after each instructional format, and analyzed with a mixed repeated-measures ANOVA. Qualitative data were collected concurrently through open ended survey responses and analyzed using a descriptive approach guided by the CoI framework.

The quantitative results indicated no statistically significant differences (p > .05) in participants’ perceptions of any CoI presences or CL, although the composite mean scores across all measures were consistently high in both DB activity instructional formats. The qualitative findings indicated that participants perceived the DB activities as cognitively engaging, feedback-centered, and interactive spaces for practicing anatomical understanding.

The integration of the quantitative and qualitative findings suggested that the CoI presences and CL in online asynchronous HA&P courses are influenced less by the type of anatomical model and more by design, facilitation, feedback, and opportunities for participant interaction that support CoI presences. The implications of this study suggest that DB activities that support anatomical labeling exercises provide opportunities for the CoI presences and CL when the DB activity is organized, well facilitated by the instructor, encourages participant and instructor feedback, and provides a low-risk environment for social interaction. Future research should extend this work by examining these DB activities across multiple institutions and with additional instructors to better understand the generalizability of these findings regarding the presences of CoIs and CL in online HA&P courses.

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.25777/t0kq-7374

ISBN

9798197808974

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