The Biology 256 Fundamentals of Human Physiology Laboratory course is designed to provide students with hands-on access to modern techniques in human physiological analyses using a mixed course-based undergraduate research (CURE) pedagogical approach. This course is large by most standards, with a spring enrollment of approximately 400 students. In the past, I have used for-purchase lab texts, but these did not offer much of the information required to deliver the course using optimal pedagogy. There was no singular text available (and certainly no open resource texts available) that could adequately prepare students for human physiology CURE curriculum practices.
For this reason, the BIOL 256L OER text was created. In this text, students learn how to perform literature searches; generate research questions and hypotheses; design experiments; collect, analyze, visualize and interpret data; and present scientific findings to others. The lab exercises provide the opportunity for students to gain science process skills by conducting experiments and/or clinical investigations each week. This OER laboratory text offers several advantages over the traditional physiology lab approach and concentrates on high-impact practices important to the President's Strategic Plan. These practices:
- Create a learning environment that emphasizes communication among peers.
- Place emphasis on assignments that encourage multidisciplinary interactions and development of leadership skills.
- Focus on authentic undergraduate research where the literature is inconclusive regarding physiological outcomes of experiments.
During the spring of 2020, 395 students used the new OER text for the BIOL 256L course. The text was integrated into Canvas (LMS) modules, so that students linked to the appropriate chapter of the text each week to
- learn background information before taking a pre-lab test, and
- preview the lab safety requirements and methods for the week.
During the early course modules, students were also asked to read additional chapters in the text, which taught them basic research skills. These chapters accompanied take-home projects that were delivered in the modules. In this way, students concentrated on learning particular research skills throughout the modules, and the experiments or clinical assessments performed in the laboratory became successively more complicated as the students acquired more skills.
Haen, K.M. (2020). A Mixed Course-Based Research Approach to Human Physiology. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Digital Press. https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/curehumanphysiology/