Development of multi-perspective, interactive short-videos for undergraduate teaching of fetal development: A pilot study

Introduction: The anatomical and physiological concepts related to the placenta and fetus are very different from adult physiology and anatomy and often challenging for undergraduate science students, unless they can participate in handson dissections. However, animal and human cadaver dissections are limited by ethical constraints and expensive. Prerecorded videos in higher education are often used, but usually use single-perspective approaches and provide few opportunities for active learning.
Aim: To develop a series of multi-perspective, interactive short-videos for undergraduate biomedical students learning about fetal anatomy and physiology.
Methods: We adapted our hands-on dissection practical of a pregnant sheep uterus and fetus, to a fully online module. We developed a story-board script and used two Go-Pro™ Hero7 and two smartphone cameras to record the dissections. Moodle and H5P (https://h5p.org/, an open-source content collaboration framework) were used to create the interactions within the videos.
Results/Discussion: We created 20 short (2-8 minute) videos of a dissection using the simultaneous video recordings and an accompanying handout with diagrams. Most videos were interspersed with MCQs and/or other interactive elements to create an active-learning environment. Students were formally assessed by a short-answer style practical report. We received numerous unsolicited comments from students about how much they enjoyed the multi-perspective, interactive videos and how it reinforced and enhance their understanding of the concepts.
Conclusions: This pilot study provides an opportunity to fine-tune the usability of short, interactive and multi-perspective videos in higher education to teach fetal development, reduce animal experimentation, maintain student
engagement and facilitate their understanding of complex physiological and anatomical concepts.