Improving the Methodology of Teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology Using Immersive Technologies

Аннотация

The worldwide shortage of cadaveric material and the rapid evolution of Extended Reality (XR) platforms have converged to renew interest in virtual, augmented and mixed-reality solutions for anatomy and physiology education. This study analyzes the pedagogical impact of immersive technologies in the pre-clinical curriculum of undergraduate biology students at Shakhrisabz State Pedagogical Institute. A quasi-experimental design compared an intervention cohort (n = 41) receiving instruction with a mixed-reality application running on HoloLens 2 to a control cohort (n = 43) taught with conventional cadaver prosections and plastinated models. Cognitive outcomes were measured with a validated 50-item multiple-choice examination; affective outcomes were captured through a five-factor engagement scale. After six weeks, the intervention group achieved a mean score of 84.6 ± 6.3 versus 74.1 ± 7.8 in the control group (p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 0.76). Engagement ratings were significantly higher across all factors, particularly “spatial comprehension” and “self-directed inquiry”. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed that immersive visualisation reduced cognitive load, supported collaborative problem solving and stimulated intrinsic motivation. The findings confirm that carefully integrated XR modules can enrich anatomy and physiology teaching, provided that instructional design principles, technical infrastructure and faculty development requirements are addressed. Keywords: Immersive technologies; virtual reality; augmented reality; mixed reality; human anatomy; physiology education; medical pedagogy. Introduction: Human anatomy has traditionally been Uzbekistan’s higher-pedagogical sector is engaged in a taught through dissection, prosection and atlas-based wider digital transformation that prioritises interactive, illustration. While these modalities foster tactile student-centred approaches. Within this context, our familiarity with human tissue, they present logistical, institute introduced a mixed-reality (MR) anatomy ethical and financial constraints, notably intensified by programme grounded in constructivist learning theory recent cadaver shortages and infection-control and multi-sensory cognitive load reduction. The regulations [1] present article reports the design, implementation and evaluation of this programme, addressing the following Concurrently, engineering advances have produced research questions: (i) Does MR instruction improve head-mounted displays capable of rendering short-term knowledge acquisition compared with photorealistic, manipulable holograms of complex traditional methods? (ii) How do students perceive the biological structures. Early evidence indicates that such usability and educational value of MR in learning immersive environments deepen spatial cognition and anatomy and physiology? (iii) What organisational and promote active learning behaviours among health- technical factors influence successful adoption? science students [2] The study employed a nonequivalent-group, pre- Nevertheless, most published trials focus either on test/post-test design conducted during the spring small elective modules or on isolated laboratory semester of 2024 – 2025. Second-year biology majors demonstrations, leaving unanswered questions about enrolled in the mandatory “Anatomy and Human scalability, curricular alignment and long-term Physiology II” course were invited to participate. After retention [3] International Journal of Pedagogics 186 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijp International Journal of Pedagogics (ISSN: 2771-2281) informed consent, two intact seminar groups were “intuitively navigable”, enabling kinesthetic randomly assigned to the MR intervention or the exploration of micro- and macro-structures without the conventional teaching condition. Baseline olfactory discomfort or ethical ambiguity of cadaver demographic variables (age, prior VR experience, dissection. Second, MR was credited with catalysing grade-point average) did not differ significantly peer instruction; learners spontaneously formed small between cohorts. groups around shared holograms, co-constructing explanations of physiological mechanisms. Third, the Instructional content targeted four organ systems: novelty of the technology generated strong intrinsic cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal and motivation, though technical setbacks such as network nervous. In the control cohort, each system was latency occasionally disrupted immersion. delivered over three 90-minute face-to-face sessions featuring cadaveric prosections, plastinated slices and The present findings corroborate and extend previous histological slides. In the intervention cohort, the international studies demonstrating the pedagogical identical time allocation was retained; however, efficacy of XR in health-science education [4]. The 10.5- cadaver use was replaced by the HoloAnatomy® point mean improvement in examination