Veterinary graduates require skills in animal observation. The aim Of this mixed methods study was to develop and validate a new educational resource which improved animal observation skills amongst pre-clinical veterinary students. A new Computer Aided Learning (CAL) resource provided pre-clinical extra mural students (PC EMS) with an opportunity to practise animal welfare assessment and had six sections; an on-line lecture, a quiz, animal observation videos, a decision -making section, "test yourself" video clips and a concept map. The CAL was informed by Kolb's cycle of experiential learning. Validation of the CAL involved a detailed, quantitative blind assessment of the content of farm reports submitted by all students post-placement. The assessment criteria for the categories were based upon the Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. CAL training prior to farm placement improved the ability of students to assess and report animal welfare as part of their pre-clinical extra mural experience. A qualitative focus group also reported finding the CAL easy to use. Three successive years of students demonstrated improved reporting of animal based measurements for each of the five freedoms following CAL training. Students were found to employ a combination of objective (quantitative) and subjective (qualitative) measures when assessing animal welfare using the CAL. More than two-thirds of the students who completed a survey following the CAL reported that it was informative and a useful addition to the pre-existing PC EMS course. Furthermore, many students re used the CAL of their own volition following initial training. Collectively, these findings show that the new CAL improved students' ability to report animal based measurements when reviewing animal welfare and was viewed positively by many of its users. The CAL has formed part of the veterinary curriculum at the University of Bristol since its validation in 2010 and is currently readily available to other British veterinary schools.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:687285 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Kerr, Anne-Marie (Annie) Jane |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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