Virtual frog dissection for anatomical learning

Frog dissection practice used to be a student´s laboratory work in Japanese elementary schools. It was an effective approach for learning animal´s anatomy. However this practice has been stopped due to animal protection issues and implemental cost. In this study, we aimed to simulate interactive dissecting practice in the virtual space. The presented virtual frog dissection system consists of virtual reality software in conjunction with head-mounted stereoscopic crystal glasses and a haptic device that allows users to touch and manipulate virtual objects. The developed system was evaluated by examining learning ability of students. Participants were divided in four groups of different learning styles, took a written test on the same questions and their resultant scores were compared. Two findings were obtained from this evaluation exam. First, students who have experienced virtual frog dissection were more correct on the appearance related questions, while students who have used paper materials were more concrete on the function-related questions in general. This general tendency may be conducted in accordance with their habitual learning style. Second, in the aspect of convenience and preparing time of each learning style, students who have used conventional paper materials demonstrated more balanced learning than did students of virtual paper materials. These findings suggest that our virtual frog dissection system can show potential benefits in the structural anatomical learning of students; and in contrast, a habitual learning style is likely to produce better outcomes if the new technique provides only the same amount of information.