The presidential election of the human body: applying contextual learning to promote connections between the student and the curricular content

Using real-world situations to engage students in learning specific content is preconized by educational research as an effective strategy. However, motivating students to establish personal and emotional connections with the curricular content is challenging. We presented a didactic strategy named The presidential election of the human body, created to use the presidential election context to engage students in studying cell function and structure using role-playing and appropriation of scientific concepts. Four groups of students (N=124) of the science and mathematics teacher training program chose a cell of the human body to impersonate, they studied the biology of their cell, and they ran in a presidential election campaign. They created slogans, videos, and materials for their campaign, and on the day of the election, the group of the students voted for the best slogan. The didactic strategy was capable of stimulating the appropriation of the characteristics of the cells they represented. The majority (75%) of the elected candidates represented cells that are linked to the nervous system. Musicality and humor were the most frequent styles that appeared in the slogans. Students strongly agreed that they enjoyed the activity and considered it valuable for contextualizing the learning of anatomy and physiology. Thus, the activity is a didactic resource to stimulate the students to embrace the content they are learning in a contextualized momentum of a presidential election.

Undergraduates lived experience of project-/problem-based learning in Introductory Biology

Recommendations for enhancing scientific literacy, inclusivity, and the ecosystem for innovation call for transitioning from teacher-centered to learner-centered science classrooms, particularly at the introductory undergraduate level. Yet, little is documented about the challenges that undergraduates perceive in such classrooms and on students' ways of navigating them. Via mixed methods, we studied undergraduates' lived experience in one form of learner-centered teaching, hybrid project-/problem-based learning (PBL), in introductory organismal biology at a baccalaureate institution. Prominent in qualitative analyses of student interviews and written reflections were undergraduates' initial expectation of and longing for an emphasis on facts and transmission of them. The prominence diminished from semester's middle to end, as students came to value developing ideas, solving problems collaboratively, and engaging in deep ways of learning. Collaboration and personal resources such as belief in self emerged as supports for these shifts. Quantitative analyses corroborated that PBL students transformed as learners, moving toward informed views on nature of science, advancing in multi-variable causal reasoning, and more frequently adopting deep approaches for learning than did students in lecture-based sections. The qualitative and quantitative findings portray the PBL classroom as an intercultural experience in which culture shock yields over time to acceptance in a way supported by students' internal resources and peer collaboration. The findings have value to those seeking to implement PBL and other complex-learning approaches in a manner responsive to the lived experience of the learner.

Active learning assignment: Legos and coins to understand glucose metabolism

This article describes an assignment used in an undergraduate Advanced Exercise Physiology course for seniors. Due to the heterogeneity and several transfer students, students' backgrounds in chemistry varied from adequate to non-existent. This presented several challenges for teaching and also for students' understanding of the different metabolic pathways. This article presents an assignment for an active-learning team-based approach in the classroom and the adapted version for virtual learning. Students in active, team-based learning were asked to create a short video of glucose oxidation using Lego bricks, coins, or other toys to represent the glucose molecule, the by-products, and the enzymes involved each pathway. During virtual learning, the assignment was modified to create a video independently in both synchronous and asynchronous course sections. Based on students' responses to an instructor-developed survey on their perceptions of the assignment, 71.4% reported that the assignment was helpful to understand glucose metabolism.

A remote laboratory course on experimental human physiology using wearable technology

To help educators deliver their physiology laboratory courses remotely, we developed an inexpensive, customizable hardware kit along with freely-available teaching resources. We based the course design on four principles that should allow students to conduct insightful experiments on different physiological systems. First, the experimental setup should not be constrained to laboratory environments. Second, students should be able to take this course without prior coding and electronics experience. Third, the hardware kit should be relatively inexpensive and all other resources should be freely-available. Fourth, all resources should be customizable for educators. The hardware kit consists of commercially-available electronic components, with a microcontroller as its hub (Arduino-friendly). All measurement systems can be assembled without soldering. The hardware kit is cost-effective (~cost of a textbook) and can be customized depending upon instructional needs. All software is freely-available and we share all necessary codes in open-access, online repositories for simple use and customizability. All lab manuals and additional video tutorials are also freely-available online and customizable. In our particular course, we have weekly asynchronous physiology lectures and one synchronous laboratory session, where students can get help with their equipment. In this paper, we will only focus on the novel and open-source laboratory part of the course. The laboratory includes four units (data acquisition, ECG, EMG, activity classification) and one final project. It is our intent that these resources will allow other educators to rapidly implement their own remote physiology laboratories, or to extend our work into other pedagogical applications of wearable technology.

Assessing student desire for professional skills development within the undergraduate science curriculum: a focus on teamwork

Professional skill development has emerged as an increasingly important facet of undergraduate training, specifically within science curricula. The primarily agreed upon professional skills for a well-rounded scientist include teamwork, oral communication, written communication, and quantitative skills. The demand for these skills has been driven by employers and graduate/professional schools. To this end, instructors in higher education have begun to integrate professional skill development into their course design and student learning goals. However, the attitudes of students towards the importance of different professional skills, the inclusion of these skills in their coursework, level of improvement and end confidence has yet to be thoroughly characterized. It was the aim of this study to ascertain students' desire for the aforementioned professional skills within their undergraduate science programs by exploring student perceptions of professional skills inclusion, importance, improvement, and confidence and identify the local courses students recognize as utilizing "teamwork activities." Here we detail these attitudes in biomedical science undergraduates at Michigan State University. By using the Science Student Skills Inventory (SSSI), a previously validated assessment tool, we observed differences in student perceptions of professional skills when compared to previous SSSI studies. We also observed significant differences in attitudes between age groups with respect to writing and communication skills, differing perceptions of what constitutes teamwork, as well as gender differences regarding communication and ethical thinking. Our results give valuable insight into student perspectives on how professional skills are developed in their program. These data may inform curriculum development within and across institutions.

Participation value of undergraduate students leading STEM outreach: Evaluation of academic, personal and professional effects

This study explores the academic, professional and personal career benefits of leading Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach, from the perspective of undergraduate student leaders. We consider traditional and non-traditional STEM university students, gender and type of position (paid or volunteer) in this evaluation. Data were collected through an online survey completed by 30 former student STEM outreach leaders from the University of British Columbia. Survey data indicated that STEM outreach had a moderately strong impact on academic, professional and personal career development. Outcomes did not differ between genders and paid work was found to contribute to greater personal and professional impact. The positive influence of outreach on academic and professional decision making was higher in traditional STEM fields than STEM based health-science studies. Future studies are needed to fully understand how demographics and year of study might differentially inform career decision making within as well as between STEM fields to maximize university student leader involvement and create advances in the university-leaders academic and professional development. The outcomes of this research will further inform the relevant impacts of STEM outreach on university student leaders.

How much does it cost? Teaching physiology of energy metabolism in mice using an indirect calorimetry system in a practical course for veterinary students

In endothermic mammals total energy expenditure (EE) is composed of basal metabolic rate (BMR), energy spent for muscle activity, thermoregulation, any kind of production (such as milk, meat or egg production) and the thermic effect of feeding. The BMR is predominantly determined by body mass and the surface to volume ratio of the body. The EE can be quantified either by direct or indirect calorimetry. Direct calorimetry measures the rate of heat loss from the body, whereas indirect calorimetry measures oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production and calculates heat production from oxidative nutrient combustion. A deep and sustainable understanding of EE in animals is crucial for veterinarians in order to properly calculate and evaluate feed rations, during special circumstances such as anaesthesia or in situations with increased energy demands as commonly seen in high yielding livestock. The practical class described in this manuscript provides an experimental approach to understand how EE can be measured and calculated by indirect calorimetry. Two important factors that affect the EE of animals (the thermic effect of feeding and the effect of ambient temperature) are measured. A profound knowledge about the energy requirements of animal life and its measurement is also relevant for education in general biology, animal and human physiology and nutrition. Therefore, this teaching unit can equally well be implemented in other areas of life sciences.

Navigating the "COVID hangover" in physiology courses

Undergraduate educators and students must navigate lingering after-effects of the COVID pandemic on education in the 2021-2022 academic year even as COVID continues to impact delivery of undergraduate science education. This article describes ongoing difficulties for undergraduate STEM students and educators and suggests strategies and easy-to-use resources that may help educators navigate the "COVID hangover" and ongoing COVID-related disruptions.