Presented By: Dawn Owens, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
Co-Authors: Anastasia Mashukova, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
Samiksha Prasad, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
Fatemeh Rhana Mousavi, Core Laboratory Medical, HCA Physician Services, IRL Pathology Services
Kallidaikurichi Venkatachalam, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine

Purpose
Professor-centered didactic sessions continue to be largely utilized in higher education overall. However, medical education curricula reform is moving towards active learning that emphasizes the importance of teaching modalities that promote student engagement and critical thinking skills and foster curiosity and discovery in students. Historically, students perceive topics in the area of histology as primarily theoretical because of relatively less prevalence in standardized medical licensing exams. However, more engaging methods to discuss the pathological importance of histology and how it relates to the treatment of their patients need to be developed.

Methods
Four-hour histology laboratory sessions were delivered each year during the hematology course for first-year medical students. For the 2021-22 deliveries of the session, the four hours were traditional didactic setting (n=100), while for the 2023 iteration, the session was implemented as a large group (with smaller sub-groups of 5-6 students) active learning (team-based learning) interactive histology laboratory session (n=54). Faculty with content expertise circulated through the groups and facilitated the discussion. Assessment of student learning involved identification on the basis of prompts on a virtual slide was completed.

Results
Students displayed 100% participation during the assessment of content related to this session (n=54). The qualitative data showed that student engagement in the active learning components of the session was well received. Student evaluations for the sessions will be assessed for the impact of the active learning session as compared to the traditional didactic session.

Conclusions
The activity will highlight the importance of interactive histology laboratory sessions to have better outcomes in student learning. More efforts are needed to increase innovation and incorporate evidence-based active learning strategies in medical education, especially to foster learner engagement, critical thinking, and problem-solving ability. Student performance related to histology during the course assessment will be evaluated and used to guide future active learning sessions.