Learning histology - Dental and medical students' study strategies

Purpose: Histology, the science of cells and tissues at the microscopic level, is an integral component of most dental and medical curricula and is often taught using both traditional and novel computer-based didactic approaches. The purpose of this study was to analyse the strategies used by dental and medical students when studying this very visual and challenging subject. Methods: Data were collected from 75 dental and 143 medical students, who had almost identical histology learning resources at their disposal. Results: When compared with their medical counterparts, dental students view histology as a more difficult subject and as less relevant for their future career. Whereas dental students, who are required to attend class unlike medical students, made more use of in-classroom learning opportunities, they did not take as much advantage of out-of-classroom resources. In addition, dental students reported a significantly higher tendency than medical students to work together, rather than to study alone. Discussion: Small differences in the dental versus the medical learning environment associate with several observed differences in learning strategies that are adopted by dental and medical students. Conclusions: These differences should be considered when teaching the subject of histology to dental or to medical students.