For those interested in learning more about the curricululm, the design team has outlined the navigation menus for the curriculum which show how the EVH pilot curriculum will be organized. You may also learn more about the specifics of the pilot curriculum by viewing the initial storyboard drafts for each unit (these detail the text and IAA scripting for each screen). Please note, these storyboards are still in the design phase. Final storyboards, with complete information about what students will see as they work through the curriculum (including all elements of screen design and layout) will be posted as they are ready for public viewing.
tructional Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes
Innovative Design
Most anatomy courses focus exclusively on the student's acquisition of the basic components of anatomical study and they do little to promote the higher levels of learning such as the application, analysis or synthesis of anatomy knowledge. The proposed curriculum aims higher than traditional anatomy education instruction. It is designed not only to address the student's acquisition of anatomy knowledge, but it will also specifically address the student's ability to integrate and to apply this knowledge to human case studies, effectively raising the bar for anatomy learning objectives.olid Instructional Strategies
To support these higher learning objectives, well-researched instructional strategies were employed in the curriculum's design. As with the EVH tool, the design foundation for the pilot curriculum is based on the "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education". Additionally, the "problem-based learning" approach that was pioneered in science education in the 1970's, and that now is being integrated into countless medical school curricula, is foundational in shaping the learning activities of the pilot curriculum. In this approach, clinical problems are the organizing focus and stimulus for students' learning; these problems are designed as self-directed learning activities that are supported and facilitated by, rather than directed by, faculty and teaching assistants (Barrows, 1996). This is a natural choice of instructional strategy for the project, given the learning objectives previously described.
se Learning Community
The learning community using the curriculum will be composed of students from a myriad of academic settings, as well as teaching assistants, and professors, promoting many different levels of academic interaction and challenge. Current educational research supports this kind of cooperative learning community, where students and faculty collaborate in the learning process (Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991). Individual classes will have the opportunity to interact both in their individual lab settings as well as electronically and the larger learning community will be linked entirely through on-line communications.

The challenge in gathering such a diverse learning community is to ensure that the learning needs for all involved are met. The curriculum is designed to promote interactive learning as well as to provide a diverse array of students with appropriately challenging learning experiences. Providing learning activities for students that come from a wide variety of anatomy study backgrounds is one of the curriculum's strengths. The interactive reference tools embedded in the curriculum have a range of detail presented, from the most basic to the most advanced. Also, the case studies that are a part of the curriculum will be geared to different levels of expertise.
References
Barrows, H.S. (1996). Problem-Based Learning in Medicine and Beyond: A Brief Overview. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 68, 3-12.

Bloom, B.S., ed. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. New York: David McKay Company.

Chickering, A.W. and Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. AAHE Bulletin, 39, 3-7.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T and Smith, K.A. (1991). Cooperative Learning: Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 9. Washington, D.C.: School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University.

The Explorable Virtual Human Project

Overall Instructional Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes
for EVH Pilot Curriculum
Instructional Objective 1: To promote and support the student's acquisition of the basic components of anatomical study* of the knee joint.

Related Student Learning Outcomes:
1.1 Students will be able to identify, describe and locate the basic anatomical systems in the knee joint.

1.2 Students will be able to identify, describe and locate the basic individual anatomical structures and features of the knee joint as well as their histology and anatomical functioning.

1.3 Students will be able to describe both the 3-D and the functional relationships of the basic anatomical structures in the knee joint.

Instructional Objective 2: To promote and support the student's integration and application of knee joint anatomy knowledge to human case studies.

Related Student Learning Outcomes:
2.1 Students will be able to apply their knowledge of anatomical systems, histology and functioning to their growing knowledge of anatomical structures.

2.2 Students will be able to apply their knowledge of individual anatomical structures of the knee and their 3-D relationships by identifying and locating the structures in a variety of case studies.

2.3 Students will be able to apply their knowledge of the functional relationships between the individual anatomical structures of the knee to normal and abnormal case studies.

*The basic components of human anatomy study:
The anatomical systems in the human body.
The nomenclature, location, and histology of the individual structures in the human body.
The 3-D spatial relationships of the individual structures in the human body. The normal functional anatomy of the individual structures in the human body.
The functional relationships between the individual structures in the human body.

Integrating the EVH Knee Joint Curriculum:
An Instructional Example
Dr. Brancard is a seasoned anatomy instructor. She teaches an undergraduate course as well as a course for physician assistants. The institution in which she teaches has limited access to cadavers. She reviews the EVH and decides it would be an excellent addition to the media in her anatomy courses.

After evaluating her students learning needs as well as her heavy teaching load for the semester, she decides to use one of the EVH's pre-designed curriculum units. In this way, she can substantially supplement her students' learning without dramatically increasing her course preparation time. She selects a unit on the knee joint, designed and produced by a team of anatomy instructors the previous year. She chooses this unit because the learning objectives match those of her courses, the learning tasks of the curriculum have been clearly defined and, she believes the discussion questions and learning activities included in the curriculum will be a valuable addition to her course.

During a lab session designed to integrate students' initial learning about several different anatomical systems, Dr. Brancard spends a few minutes orienting students to the EVH knee-joint curriculum. The curriculum is specifically designed for students to work independently and, quickly, Dr. BrancardÕs students are off and running. A technical support assistant in the lab fields technical questions so that Dr. Brancard can focus on individual learning support. Students spend this lab period as well as one other to work through the extensive curriculum. The lab is also open for students to return to outside of class hours and students who have internet access from home can access the application at their convenience.

As they move around the EVH knee-joint curriculum, active learning and critical thinking activities/questions (embedded in the EVH application) are served up to exercise students' learning. Engaging in each of the learning tasks, students are stimulated by the constant requirement to actively participate in their anatomy study. They are empowered by their ability to control the pace of their learning. Frequent tasks measures give them immediate feedback about their progress. Several of the work stations have a haptic device installed; this allows students to benefit from EVH information they can feel as well as information they can see.

The integrative, self-directed learning activities that characterize the pre-designed EVH curriculum as well as the case study examples (to which students must apply their learning) are a strong addition to the course. Dr. Brancard decides to adopt it as a permanent addition to her teaching repertoire.