Effectiveness of Incorporating Animated Drawings in PowerPoint Presentations for Teaching Neuroanatomy to First-phase MBBS Students

Background: Using traditional PowerPoint (tPPT) as a teaching tool for cross-sections in neuroanatomy can limit interactive engagement and the depth of spatial understanding needed for complex anatomical structures. Utilizing “animated drawings” in PPT (aPPT) can enhance the effectiveness of teaching cross-sectional neuroanatomy. Thus, we compared the effectiveness of both methods in improving the drawing skills of cross-sections in neuroanatomy. Methodology: Institutional Ethical Clearance and informed consent were obtained. Two cross sections of neuroanatomy, namely the Transverse Section of Pons at the Lower level and the Upper level, were taught using tPPT and aPPT methods. A diagram test (5 marks) was conducted and assessed using rubrics for both sections taught by the two techniques to evaluate their short-term (immediately) and long-term memory (after 4 weeks) of the skills learned. The test scores were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Students’ perceptions regarding aPPT method were gathered using a peer-validated questionnaire through Google Forms. Results: The section taught with aPPT showed significantly high immediate short-term (P = 0.002) and long-term memory scores (P = 0.018). The majority of the students expressed that the approach was useful in understanding and drawing the cross sections in neuroanatomy and has good overall satisfaction and effectiveness. Conclusions: The study results validate the effectiveness of using “aPPT” which not only enhanced knowledge acquisition but also received high appreciation from students, indicating its potential as a valuable teaching tool.