Integrating Interactive Computational Modeling in Biology Curricula

While the use of computer tools to simulate complex processes such as computer circuits is normal practice in fields like engineering, the majority of life sciences/biological sciences courses continue to rely on the traditional textbook and memorization approach. To address this issue, we explored the use of the Cell Collective platform as a novel, interactive, and evolving pedagogical tool to foster student engagement, creativity, and higher-level thinking. Cell Collective is a Web-based platform used to create and simulate dynamical models of various biological processes. Students can create models of cells, diseases, or pathways themselves or explore existing models. This technology was implemented in both undergraduate and graduate courses as a pilot study to determine the feasibility of such software at the university level. First, a new (In Silico Biology) class was developed to enable students to learn biology by “building and breaking it” via computer models and their simulations. This class and technology also provide a non-intimidating way to incorporate mathematical and computational concepts into a class with students who have a limited mathematical background. Second, we used the technology to mediate the use of simulations and modeling modules as a learning tool for traditional biological concepts, such as T cell differentiation or cell cycle regulation, in existing biology courses. Results of this pilot application suggest that there is promise in the use of computational modeling and software tools such as Cell Collective to provide new teaching methods in biology and contribute to the implementation of the “Vision and Change” call to action in undergraduate biology education by providing a hands-on approach to biology.     

Programmed Instruction: New Bottle for Rediscovered Wine

Programmed instruction is attracting attention at all educational levels. While this approach is new, the educational principles it incorporates are well established: instructional goals are defined in advance, the content is meticulously organized, active student participation is demanded, immediate feedback is provided to students, and each instructional unit is subjected to testing and revision. With its established effectiveness as a vehicle for introducing new topics, and for providing remedial and supplementary instruction, it can free the medical teacher to devote his time to matters which are more deserving of his attention, such as identifying and responding to individual student needs, exploring complex concepts, and working directly with students to provide a model and critical supervision. A more important potential contribution of programming may be that it has reminded us of sound educational precepts which deserve our attention in all forms of instruction.     

Animals in science education—ethics and alternatives

Increasingly, moral objections are being voiced to the use or killing of animals for educational purposes, and students' opinions are reflecting this. An animal rights philosophy often underlies these objections, but many people are unaware of the logic of the animal rights position, which is often dismissed as sentimentalism or anthropomorphism. While it is now possible to take A-level biology without undertaking dissection, there are many potential undergraduate students who would like to do courses in biology, medicine, pharmacology, physiology, and nursing, but are dissuaded by the animal use involved. Such students are frequently not offered non-animal options and risk being marked down in course work and exams, even though considerable advances have been made in the development of alternative teaching aids. This article summarizes the animal rights argument, and reviews some of the alternative approaches and their teaching effectiveness.     

Integrating recent advances in neuroscience into undergraduate neuroscience and physiology courses

Neuroscience has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past 20 years, including a substantial increase in the number of neuroscience departments, programs, and courses at the undergraduate level. To meet the need of new neuroscience courses, there has also been growth in the number of introductory neuroscience textbooks designed for undergraduates. However, textbooks typically trail current knowledge by five to ten years, especially in neuroscience where our understanding is increasing rapidly. Consequently, it is often important to supplement neuroscience and physiology textbooks with information about recent findings in neuroscience. To design supplementary educational material, it is essential first to identify the educational objectives of the program and the characteristics of the learners, which can differ dramatically between undergraduate and graduate or professional students. Four principles that may serve the selection and design of supplementary material for undergraduate neuroscience and physiology courses are that (1) material must be interesting to the undergraduates, (2) material should reinforce previously learned concepts, (3) students must be adequately prepared, and (4) the teacher and student must have sufficient appropriate resources.     

Training in medical informatics. The use of computers for diagnostic purposes

Part of a blockcourse on medical informatics is presented; this course is intended for medical students. It is shown how medical students are introduced to the study of the role of computers for diagnostic purposes. The course consists of an oral presentation which introduces the student to the subject, and of practical work on systems in order to more fully comprehend the topics explained in the oral part of the blockcourse. In the oral presentation the student is introduced to various concepts that are used in computer-aided diagnosis. A critical review of the possibilities of computer use for diagnostic purposes is given. A system is presented, with which the student can work interactively. It consists of a database of patients, referred to the hospital because of suspected congenital heart disorder. Bayes' rule and diagnostic tree decision schemes are available to the student to acquaint himself with the subject. The ways he can work with this system are explained. The course is given regularly (every 4 months) to medical students and is well appreciated.     

Development and evaluation of a genetics literacy assessment instrument for undergraduates

There is continued emphasis on increasing and improving genetics education for grades K-12, for medical professionals, and for the general public. Another critical audience is undergraduate students in introductory biology and genetics courses. To improve the learning of genetics, there is a need to first assess students' understanding of genetics concepts and their level of genetics literacy (i.e., genetics knowledge as it relates to, and affects, their lives). We have developed and evaluated a new instrument to assess the genetics literacy of undergraduate students taking introductory biology or genetics courses. The Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument is a 31-item multiple-choice test that addresses 17 concepts identified as central to genetics literacy. The items were selected and modified on the basis of reviews by 25 genetics professionals and educators. The instrument underwent additional analysis in student focus groups and pilot testing. It has been evaluated using approximately 400 students in eight introductory nonmajor biology and genetics courses. The content validity, discriminant validity, internal reliability, and stability of the instrument have been considered. This project directly enhances genetics education research by providing a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the genetics literacy of undergraduate students.     

Teaching "Species"

A clear understanding of the term "species" is fundamental to the subject of evolution. However, introductory textbooks often fail to address this topic until one of the later chapters, after having used the term species in all preceding chapters. Furthermore, definitions of terms critical to a clear understanding of this subject are often vague or absent in chapters on species concepts. We feel the popular notion of a "species problem" has been unnecessarily inflated by this less-than-effective educational approach. Clearly addressing this essential subject at the beginning of a course on evolution will prepare students to learn the details and complexities of evolution. Here we provide the background for an alternative approach to this foundational topic, followed by an outlined lesson plan. We emphasize early introduction of this subject in texts and courses using unambiguous terminology and including the historical development of species concepts.     

探索医学研究生的《分子生物学》教学改革

培养具有创新思维和独立创新能力的高素质人才,是医学研究生教育的培养目标,也是新的历史时期对培养高等医学人才 的要求。《医学分子生物学》课程对于研究生教学至关重要,已成为医学研究生的重要基础课程。我们在多年教学经验的基础上, 通过调整理论教学模式、优化知识结构、合理设置教学内容、扩展前沿知识领域、改善考核方式等多个举措,着重培养研究生的独 立科研创新能力,使得研究生《医学分子生物学》教学改革取得一定成效。     

医学专业学生确立自主学习观的必要性和重要性

目前,高等医学教育的主要任务是培养学生的综合能力,对于医学院校的学生来说,掌握扎实的医学基础知识至关重要。然而,大多医学专业的学生习惯于被动接受老师传授的知识,而严重缺乏主观能动性。医学知识涉及的内容广、难度大,初学者很难迅速掌握其精髓之处,因此确立一种高效的学习模式帮助医学生更好的理解并掌握专业理论是医学院校教育改革的重点。自主学习能力是现代教育学所提倡的相对于传统学习模式的一种现代化学习理念。自主学习的主体是学生,自主学习的过程要求主体发挥其主观能动性,自我督促、自我激励,以独立自主的方式完成高效的学习,帮助学生牢固地掌握专业理论,同时又可以灵活的运用在临床实践中。本文通过对自主学习的含义进行阐述,分析医学生确立自主学习观的必要性和重要性,并对如何确立自主学习观提出相应的建议,以推进我校教育体制改革的进度,进一步完善医学教育教学的质量。     

Online but not remote: Adapting field‐based ecology laboratories for online learning

Teaching ecology effectively and experientially has become more challenging for at least two reasons today. Most experiences of our students are urban, and we now face the near immediate and continuing need to deliver courses (either partially or wholly) online because of COVID‐19. Therefore, providing a learning experience that connects students to their environment within an ecological framework remains crucial and perhaps therapeutic to mental health. Here, we describe how prior to the pandemic we adapted our field‐based laboratories to include data collection, analysis, and interpretation, along with the development of a citizen‐science approach for online delivery. This design is simple to implement, does not require extensive work, and maintains the veracity of original learning outcomes. Collaboration online following field data collection in ecology courses within the context of cities offers further options to adapt to student experience levels, resource availability, and accessibility, as well as bringing instructors and students together to build an open well‐curated data set that can be used in ecology courses where no laboratories are available. Finally, it promotes an open collaboration among ecology instructors that can drive lasting conversations about ecology curriculum.     

Evolution and medicine in undergraduate education: a prescription for all biology students

The interface between evolutionary biology and the biomedical sciences promises to advance understanding of the origins of genetic and infectious diseases in humans, potentially leading to improved medical diagnostics, therapies, and public health practices. The biomedical sciences also provide unparalleled examples for evolutionary biologists to explore. However, gaps persist between evolution and medicine, for historical reasons and because they are often perceived as having disparate goals. Evolutionary biologists have a role in building a bridge between the disciplines by presenting evolutionary biology in the context of human health and medical practice to undergraduates, including premedical and preprofessional students. We suggest that students will find medical examples of evolution engaging. By making the connections between evolution and medicine clear at the undergraduate level, the stage is set for future health providers and biomedical scientists to work productively in this synthetic area. Here, we frame key evolutionary concepts in terms of human health, so that biomedical examples may be more easily incorporated into evolution courses or more specialized courses on evolutionary medicine. Our goal is to aid in building the scientific foundation in evolutionary biology for all students, and to encourage evolutionary biologists to join in the integration of evolution and medicine.     

A self-scalable distributed network simulation environment based on cloud computing

While parameter sweep simulations can help undergraduate students and researchers to understand computer networks, their usage in the academia is hindered by the significant computational load they convey. This paper proposes DNSE3, a service oriented computer network simulator that, deployed in a cloud computing infrastructure, leverages its elasticity and pay-per-use features to compute parameter sweeps. The performance and cost of using this application is evaluated in several experiments applying different scalability policies, with results that meet the demands of users in educational institutions. Additionally, the usability of the application has been measured following industry standards with real students, yielding a very satisfactory user experience.     

The Mathematical Basis of Mendelian Genetics

In a climate where increasing numbers of students are encouraged to pursue post-secondary education, the level of preparedness students have for college-level coursework is not far from the minds of all educators, especially high school teachers. Specifically within the biological sciences, introductory biology classes often serve as the gatekeeper or a pre-requisite for subsequent coursework in those fields and pre-professional programmes (eg pre-medicine or pre-veterinarian). Thus, how helpful high school science and mathematics experiences are in preparing students for their introductory biology classes is important and relevant for teachers, science educators and policy makers alike. This quantitative study looked at the association between students' high school science and mathematics experiences with introductory college biology performance. Using a nationally representative sample of US students (n?=?2667) enrolled in 33 introductory college biology courses, a multi-level statistical model was developed to analyse the association between high school educational experiences and the final course grade in introductory biology courses. Advanced high school science and mathematics coursework, an emphasis on a deep conceptual understanding of biology concepts and a prior knowledge of concepts addressed in well-structured laboratory investigations are all positively associated with students' achievement in introductory college biology.     

Use of computer simulations in microbial and molecular genetics

The development of five computer programs in microbial and molecular genetics is described. Four of these are simulations of genetic and physical mapping experiments, designed to give students experience in generating and analysing meaningful data, and to help in the consolidation of the concepts underlying the simulation. They should be used after the experiment proper has been performed, rather than as a substitute for it. The fifth is an interactive learning program on the genetic coding mechanism.     

Developing a contextualised blended learning framework to enhance medical physics student learning and engagement

As a specialist field of study, medical physicists require a broad range of knowledge and skills to operate competently in their workplace. In Australia, these competencies are accredited by the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM). Education and training for medical physicists therefore consists of an exhaustive range of knowledge areas. This is made even more challenging due to the extremely diverse backgrounds of students in these specialist courses of study. These factors frequently lead to a disengagement by students with learning activities.To address some of these challenges, the Radiotherapy Physics unit in a Masters level Medical Physics course of study was re-designed to increase active learning that included scaffolded in-class and online tasks and supported by virtual reality simulations. These re-design initiatives were informed by a diverse team including academic and clinical medical physicists as well as education experts.A survey, conducted over two consecutive years was used to gain students perceptions about the re-design. The questions were designed to see if the students felt engaged with the various learning activities.Analysis of the survey data indicates that there was an overall improvement in students’ engagement with the learning activities and the learning content.The paper further discusses nuanced understanding about the ways in which students engaged with the various learning activities including online, in-class, practicals and industry attachments. The paper discusses the appropriately informed learning activities that can be used to improve student engagement for highly specialised, content heavy areas of study.     

Elementary education majors experience hands-on learning in introductory biology

Faculty members from the University of South Dakota attended the Curriculum Reform Institute offered by the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, WI, during the summer of 2002 to design a course sequence for elementary education majors that better meets their needs for both content and pedagogy based on the science education standards. The special section of introductory biology that resulted from this workshop is designed to use laboratories and activities that either help students learn major concepts in the life sciences or model how to teach these concepts to their future K-8 students. This study describes how the active, hands-on learning opportunity for preservice teachers with its emphasis on both content and performance-based assessment was implemented in an introductory biology course for elementary education majors during the spring of 2004. During the initial offering of this course, student perceptions about what helped them to learn in the special section was compared with their nonscience major peers in the large lecture-intensive class that they would have taken. Each group of students completed early and late web-based surveys to assess their perceptions about learning during the courses. After the completion of the course, students in the special section appreciated how the relevance of science and conducting their own scientific experimentation helped them learn, enjoyed working and studying in small groups, valued diverse class time with very little lecture, were more confident in their abilities in science, and were more interested in discussing science with others. This course format is recommended for science classes for preservice teachers.     

"Survivor" torches "Who Wants to Be a Physician?" in the educational games ratings war

We recently developed an educational game for reviewing respiratory physiology in a large classroom. The "Who Wants to be a Physician?" game encouraged medical students to be active participants in the learning process. An evaluation of the game documented that students enjoyed the active format, and the students reported that the game enhanced their ability to understand and retain information. However, the evaluation also revealed that the game had limitations. Specifically, the students recommended the use of multiple-choice questions to match the Medical Board Examination format and to speed up the game (i.e., cover more topics). The students also wanted to increase their level of participation and interaction. Finally, we wanted to emphasize the benefits of peer instruction as a collaborative learning tool. To address these limitations, we designed a new game, "Survivor." Survivor incorporated multiple-choice questions and emphasized peer instruction and a capacity to gather information and solve novel problems. In addition, participation was increased by including the student audience in the game. Finally, an evaluation instrument was utilized to assess the effectiveness of this instructional tool in an academic setting. As a result of these improvements, the evaluation documents that the newly developed tool is a more effective educational game that couples fun and creative excitement with proven and effective educational concepts.     

Virtual laboratories in science education: students’ motivation and experiences in two tertiary biology courses

Potential benefits of simulations and virtual laboratory exercises in natural sciences have been both theorised and studied recently. This study reports findings from a pilot study on student attitude, motivation and self-efficacy when using the virtual laboratory programme Labster. The programme allows interactive learning about the workflows and procedures of biological and biochemical experiments, the operation of relevant apparatuses, including the ability to adjust parameters, and the production of results. The programme was used as supplement to mandatory laboratory exercises in two undergraduate courses (i. microbiology and ii. pharmaceutical toxicology) at the University of Southern Denmark. With a theoretical basis in motivational theories, students’ (n = 73) motivation and attitude towards the virtual exercises were evaluated. After completing virtual laboratory cases, the students felt significantly more confident and comfortable operating laboratory equipment, but they did not feel more motivated to engage in virtual laboratories compared to real laboratories. Teachers observed that students were able to participate in discussions at higher levels than in previous years where the programme was not used. The study concludes that virtual laboratories have the potential to improve students’ pre-laboratory preparation.     

Formative assessment can be fun as well as educational

An understanding of the hormonal basis of normal growth and development, including the changes occurring at puberty, is important foundation knowledge for contemporary medical practice in most fields of medicine. A quiz, testing the important physiological concepts of growth and puberty, was designed using the format of the well-known television game "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." An evaluation of this formative assessment activity revealed that a cohort of first-year undergraduate medical students valued learning with peers in an enjoyable, interactive environment, where they were able to admit to uncertainties and clarify answers. It also showed that making an educational activity fun need not detract from the focus of giving feedback on learning. Formative assessment, known to produce learning gains in a range of educational settings, is an important activity in contemporary medical education. With a greater emphasis on self-directed learning and less well-defined curriculum boundaries, feedback helps students to understand and apply the important physiological concepts that underpin the practice of medicine.     

Bringing Conservation Medicine into the Veterinary Curriculum: The Tufts Example

The Center for Conservation Medicine at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine (TuftsCCM), has helped to define the concept of conservation medicine as a new science that examines the interaction between human, animal, and environmental health. One the Center’s main objectives in pursuing this new science has been to incorporate conservation medicine and ecosystem health principles into the veterinary curriculum. Environmental influences on disease dynamics in animals has always had a place in veterinary medicine, but often has not been adequately explored. Many opportunities exist within a traditional veterinary curriculum to strengthen this perspective, and to bring depth and new meaning to the understanding of disease and the role of animals in ecosystem health. The Tufts program is designed to reach both the general veterinary student and the student interested in a career in conservation medicine through core teaching, elective opportunities, research opportunities, and extracurricular seminars and workshops. The core curriculum exposes every veterinary student to an ecosystem health perspective of veterinary medicine that helps them realize the impact that this approach can have on their professional lives, regardless of their chosen specialty. Committed conservation medicine students benefit from specialty courses, a wide range of experiential and field research opportunities and active mentoring. Future challenges call for development of more graduate opportunities, continued interdisciplinary collaboration with other educational institutions, and continued curricular integration of this new paradigm of health and disease into veterinary medical education.