教育学最新文献

Due to regulatory and logistical challenges, traditional hands-on endocrine labs can be difficult to implement. Here, we provide a flexible, dry-lab/classroom data analysis activity that eliminates the need for direct blood sampling and instead focuses on teaching analytical skills and theoretical knowledge. This article presents a dry-lab/classroom-ready dataset and teaching approach that allows students to analyze the endocrine regulation of metabolism following the consumption of foods predominantly composed of fat, protein, or carbohydrates. By examining real data on blood glucose and insulin responses, students gain a deeper understanding of how macronutrient intake influences metabolic pathways. A pilot set of data (originally collected with appropriate ethical approval) is provided, showing blood glucose and insulin levels from 15 participants randomly assigned to consume a food primarily composed of either fat, protein, or carbohydrates. This dataset is intended for in-class data analysis, where students predict and interpret changes in blood glucose and insulin using statistical tests. Postprandial glucose and insulin levels increased most dramatically after carbohydrate intake, whereas protein and fat intake produced more modest increases with minimal insulin changes. These findings align with expected endocrine responses and provide a rich dataset for student exploration of metabolic regulation. Shifting from direct laboratory work to data-driven classroom analysis offers an accessible way to teach endocrine metabolism. By using real-world data, students can practice experimental design skills, interpret statistical findings, and better understand how diet influences blood glucose and insulin levels.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This teaching approach offers a dry-lab/classroom exercise style activity, presenting real-world postprandial glucose and insulin data after distinct macronutrient foods. Students can use these data to hone their analytical, critical thinking, and statistical skills, while reinforcing their conceptual understanding of endocrine regulation in a flexible classroom setting.

In respiratory physiology, students must have a good idea about Dalton's Law to understand the effect of water vapor pressure on the partial pressure of the respiratory gases. This illumination has two aims: the first is to introduce a student's misconception about the application of Dalton's Law in respiratory physiology, and the second is to explore the potential effect of previous incomplete knowledge on the formation of this misconception. A survey about student feedback on these topics showed that this misconception is very common, hidden, and needs to be corrected to help students learning.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Dalton's Law may provide a good example for students to highlight the existence of misconceptions and their effect on gaining new knowledge. The awareness of students about this misconception may improve their learning styles.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming educational practices, particularly in assessment. While AI may support the students in idea generation and summarization of source materials, it also introduces challenges related to content validity, academic integrity, and the development of critical thinking skills. Educators need strategies to navigate these complexities and maintain rigorous, ethical assessments that promote higher order cognitive skills. This article provides practical guidance for educators on designing take-home assessments (e.g. research-based assignments) in the AI era. This guidance was developed through a collaborative, consensus-driven process involving a consortium of three educators with diverse academic backgrounds, career stages, and perspectives on AI in education. Members, holding experience in higher education across the United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, and Middle East and North Africa regions, brought varied insights into AI's role in education. The team engaged in an iterative process of refining recommendations through biweekly virtual meetings and offline discussions. Four key recommendations are presented 1) codeveloping AI literacy among students and educators, 2) designing assessments that prioritize process over output, 3) validating learning through AI-free assessments, and 4) preparing students for AI-enhanced workplaces by developing AI communication skills and promoting human-AI collaboration. These strategies emphasize ethical AI use, personalized feedback, and creativity. By adopting these approaches, educators can balance the benefits and risks of AI in assessments, fostering authentic learning while preparing students for the challenges of an AI-driven world.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This paper presents a framework to effectively design take-home assessments in the generative artificial intelligence (AI) era with four key recommendations to navigate the challenges and opportunities posed by generative AI. From codeveloping AI literacy to fostering human-AI collaboration, the strategies empower educators to promote authentic learning, critical thinking, and ethical AI use. Adaptable to various contexts, these insights help prepare students for an AI-driven future while maintaining academic rigor and integrity.

During the years 2020-2022, COVID-19-related restrictions led to fewer in-person lab offerings in Neuroscience and Biology courses, resulting in negative impacts on students' skills and confidence. In this study, we investigate the impact of a co-curricular undergraduate lab skills program, the Practical Skills Passport (PSP), on student lab confidence. PSP tasks were designed based on informal student feedback and refined via pilot testing by postgraduates with no wet lab experience. Sessions were delivered weekly during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years. The impact was evaluated using a survey of students who had attended at least one PSP session. Students at various stages of study in Neuroscience and Biology undergraduate programs attended the PSP. Survey respondents indicated that they felt their confidence in their lab skills improved following PSP attendance. Survey respondents rated the PSP positively overall and expressed interest in attending again. Attendance at the PSP peaked in the first few weeks of semester 1 in each year and declined thereafter, indicating that students are more interested in lab skills practice after returning from the summer break. Fewer students attended in 2022-2023 compared to 2021-2022, probably reflecting the return to all in-person learning as COVID-19 restrictions lifted. In general, "core" lab tasks were more popular in 2021-2022, and specialized tasks were more popular in 2022-2023.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The COVID-19 pandemic reduced opportunities for in-person lab classes, negatively impacting students' skills and confidence. We developed a co-curricular program of lab skills catch-up sessions with the aim of restoring student lab confidence during the return to in-person instruction. Here we describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of this program. Our evaluation indicates that engagement with the program positively impacted student lab confidence.

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are frequently used in medical education for assessment. Automated generation of MCQs in board-exam format could potentially save significant effort for faculty and generate a wider set of practice materials for student use. The goal of this study was to explore the feasibility of using ChatGPT by OpenAI to generate United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE)/Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX-USA)-style practice quiz items as study aids. Researchers gave second-year medical students studying renal physiology access to a set of practice quizzes with ChatGPT-generated questions. The exam items generated were evaluated by independent experts for quality and adherence to the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)/National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) guidelines. Forty-nine percent of questions contained item writing flaws, and 22% contained factual or conceptual errors. However, 59/65 (91%) were categorized as a reasonable starting point for revision. These results demonstrate the feasibility of large language model (LLM)-generated practice questions in medical education but only when supervised by a subject matter expert with training in exam item writing.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Practice board exam questions generated by large language models can be made suitable for preclinical medical students by subject-matter experts.

This paper describes a short ion flow activity that can be completed within one lab or lecture session. The activity is focused on the core concept of flow-down gradients and is geared toward undergraduates. No previous knowledge of equilibrium potentials or membrane potentials is required. Students are guided through a set of questions that build in complexity. First, the K⁺ gradient across the membrane is considered. Simple questions are posed that allow students to build a foundation of basic facts regarding ion flow. Next, students work with the Nernst equation to investigate equilibrium potentials. In this part of the activity, students are presented with several sets of conditions in which the K⁺ gradient is made more or less steep, and they are asked to calculate the effect on the equilibrium potential. Students then write a description of the relationship between the magnitude of the gradient and the equilibrium potential. This is preparation for moving on to use a Nernst/Goldman simulator that allows manipulating the K⁺, Na⁺, and/or Cl^- gradients, as well as temperature and permeability. Finally, students answer questions that prompt them to summarize their knowledge regarding equilibrium potentials, membrane voltages, and the effect of temperature on the membrane voltage. By the end of the activity, students should be able to compare and contrast the Nernst and Goldman equations.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This activity uses simple models and online tools to introduce students to the basic principles of ion flow.

Models that illustrate renal fluid dynamics are scarce within the secondary and postsecondary landscape. This work summarizes the efforts to build a rudimentary model renal corpuscle (MRC) that can be employed in a problem-based learning exercise or demonstration to teach basic principles of renal physiology to secondary students or undergraduates. The MRC presented here was constructed from readily available parts and allows the user to simulate changes in "systemic blood pressure," modulate the diameter of the "afferent arteriole," and assess how these changes affect glomerular filtration. While our model shows promise as an educational tool, modifications are suggested before it is optimized for student use.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This work describes the efforts to create a model renal corpuscle that may be employed in an educational demo or problem-based learning exercise. Working nephron models that illustrate renal fluid dynamics are not widely available, which warrants the exploration of this new domain of teaching tools.

Video games have been used more frequently in educational settings in recent years. Research investigating the efficacy of games with an educational focus is predominantly utilized in primary and secondary school settings, but educational games with sufficient complexity could have utility in tertiary education. Minecraft Education Edition (MEE) is an immersive, three-dimensional (3-D) game where players/students have freedom to use and manipulate a variety of blocks, akin to "virtual Lego." The open-world and creative nature of MEE fosters collaborative play, and the freedom to build structures, switches, and other mechanisms allows educators to create functional and interactive models of physiological systems. This article describes how MEE was used to teach skeletal muscle and cardiac physiology to second-year university students through creation of custom-made interactive worlds. Explorations of the virtual skeletal muscle and heart were run as an on-campus activity. In the first teaching activity, a virtual 3-D interactive model was created in MEE where students activated distinct processes of skeletal muscle excitation, excitation-contraction (EC) coupling, and contraction. In the second teaching activity, a 3-D interactive model of the heart was created in MEE where students controlled each part of the cardiac cycle. Both activities were followed by a custom-made "escape room"-style quiz, followed by an in-class discussion aimed to highlight any limitations of the models. This article explores how these virtual models were created, providing a detailed description of the learning activities, and discusses the benefits, limitations, and relevant education theories of using Minecraft Education Edition in physiology teaching.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first published work exemplifying the use of Minecraft Education Edition (MEE) in tertiary-level physiology education. We describe two separate interactive teaching activities for skeletal muscle and cardiac physiology using MEE. Recommendations are provided so that educators can adapt the use of MEE virtual worlds to their own curriculum design.

Student-instructor relationships play a crucial role in academic engagement and success, yet large lecture courses often limit direct interaction. This study investigated whether a brief, early-semester meeting with the instructor could enhance student engagement and academic performance. Students (n_T = 423) in a large introductory physiology course were offered a five-minute, one-on-one meeting with the instructor, with a majority of students (n_M = 323) completing the meeting. Students (n_R = 336) completed a midsemester survey that assessed engagement behaviors and self-reported letter grades at midterm. Students who completed the survey and participated in the meeting (n_RM = 285) reported higher letter grades at midterm compared to those who did not (P = 0.02). These findings correlated with a moderate effect size (Cramér's V = 0.18). Similarly, an analysis of actual midterm grades between students who completed the meeting and those who did not revealed a moderate to strong effect size (Cramér's V = 0.33). While meeting participation did not significantly impact question-asking behavior during class, students reported feeling more comfortable seeking help in person, during class, and via email. Thematic analysis revealed two major themes: Student Motivation and Intentions for Engaging with the Professor and Relationship-Building and Perceptions of the Professor. Many students initially attended for extrinsic reasons (e.g., extra credit) but later expressed increased comfort with the instructor, reinforcing their willingness to engage in class. These findings suggest that structured, low-stakes interactions may improve student-instructor relationships, even in large lecture courses. Future research should explore the long-term impact of such meetings on student success and retention.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study shows that brief, early-semester student-instructor meetings foster stronger connections, increase student participation, and improve self-reported academic performance in large lecture courses. The following article demonstrates how a simple, scalable strategy can transform student-instructor relationships and enhance learning outcomes.