ANIMAL LABORATORY, INTERACTIVE AND COMPUTER BASED LEARNING, IN ENHANCING BASIC CONCEPTS IN PHYSIOLOGY: AN OUTLOOK OF 481 UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS
Abstract
Background: Laboratory exercises are intended to illustrate concepts and add an active learning component to courses. Since 1980s, there has been a decline in animal laboratories in medical physiology courses. Other cost-effective non-animal alternatives are being sought. The present study was designed to find out the students’ opinion regarding the animal versus computer lab and whether innovative teaching methodologies helped students achieve their goals. Methods: Opinions of 481 female medical students of 2nd and 3rd year MBBS were included in the study. A questionnaire based on animal/computer based experiments and new teaching methodologies in physiology was voluntarily filled in by the students. Results: Majority of students immensely benefited from both the animal lab and other teaching methodologies. Conclusion: Although computer based learning is considered effective in helping students acquire basic concepts, there is evidence that some students acquire a more thorough understanding of the material through more advanced and challenging experience of an animal laboratory. The fact that such labs as well various teaching methods offer distinct educational advantages should be taken into account when courses are designed.Keywords: Animal Lab, animation, Learning technique, Physiology learning, Teaching methodsReferences
Ra’anan AW. The evolving role of animal laboratories in physiology instruction. Adv Physiol Educ 2005;29:144–50.
Keiser TD, Hamm RW. Forum: Dissection –The case for. Sci Teach 1991;58(1):13–5.
Hansen LA, Boss GR. Use of live animals in the curricula of US medical schools: survey results from 2001. Acad Med 2002;77:1147–9.
Hoffstein A, Lunetta VN. The role of the laboratory in science teaching: neglected aspects of research. Rev Educ Res 1982;52:201–17.
Balkanci ZD, Pehlianoglu B. An overview of undergraduate physiology education in Turkish medical faculties. Adv Physiol Edu 2008;32:322–8.
Moss R. Physiologists Support Animal Labs. American Physiological Society; Report 2013.
Peat M, Taylor PM. Virtual Biology: How well can it replace authentic activities! CAL Laborate Int 2005;13:21–4.
Ozu M, Dorr RA, Gutierrez F, Politi MT, Toriano R. A counterpoint between computer simulations and biological experiments to train new members of a laboratory of physiological sciences. Adv Physiol Educ 2012;36:345–51.
Azer SA, Hasanato R, Al-Nasser S, Somily A, AlSaadi MM. Introducing clinical laboratory classes in a PBL curriculum: impact on students’ learning and satisfaction. BMC Med Edu 2013;13:71.
Tembhurne SV, Sakarkar DM. Alternative to use of live animals in teaching pharmacology and physiology in pharmacy undergraduate curriculum: an assessment of 120 students’ views. Int J Med Pharm Sci 2011;1(1):4–7.
Nageswari K, Syamala D. Simulation of physiology experiments –an alternative to animal use. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2007;51:354–60.
Siddiqui A. The evolving role of physiology and its teaching in undergraduate medical curriculum. [Editorial]. Al Ameen J Med Sci 2012;5:107–8.
Anyachi VS, Nwobodo E, Njoku CJ, Inah GA. Comparative evaluation of evaluation of active learning and the traditional lectures in physiology: a case study of 200 level medical laboratory students of Imo State University, Owerri. Niger J Physiol Sci 2007;22:117–21.
DeHaan RL. Teaching creativity and inventive problem solving in science. CBE Life Sci Educ 2009;8(3):172–81.
Tufts MA, Higgins-Opitz SB. What makes the learning of physiology in a PBL medical curriculum challenging? Student perception. Adv Physiol Edu 2009;33(3):187–95.
Hooi SC, Koh DR. One hundred years of physiology education in Singapore. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2005;36(6);84–6C.
Earnst H Colthorpe K. The efficacy of interactive lecturing for students with diverse science backgrounds. Adv Physiol Educ 2007;31(1):41–4
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.
USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.