This multi-center study explores how medical and dental students use combined learning strategies to study anatomy, identifying four distinct Anatomy Learning Profiles (ALPs): Active, Collaborative, Structured, and Passive. Based on data from 567 students, the profiles reflect different blends of cognitive, metacognitive, and resource management strategies. Factors like age, gender, curriculum type, and training stage influenced profile membership. Active and Collaborative learners performed best, with peer collaboration helping compensate for lower motivation. These results contribute to our understanding of students‘ learning strategies and can serve as a basis for pedagogical learning approaches in anatomy education that are tailored to students‘ combined learning behaviours.

In addition to her teaching activities, Dr. Katharina Langer-Fischer is developing our unique virtual microscopy platform MyMi.mobile with universities in Germany and abroad under the direction of Prof. Dr. Stefan Britsch.