Mapping the core concepts of physiology across Australian university curricula.

Core concepts in physiology, designed by physiology educators to promote improved learning and teaching, have existed for over a decade. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which a set of 15 core concepts of physiology (developed by Michael and McFarland, U.S.-based educators) are reflected in the learning outcomes (LOs) of units (subjects) comprising physiology curricula in Australian universities. From publicly accessible online information, we identified 17 Australian universities that offered a physiology major for undergraduate degree students and downloaded 788 LOs from the 166 units that comprised the majors. Each LO was blindly mapped against the 15 core concepts by 8 physiology educators from 3 Australian universities. Additionally, text-matching software was employed to match keywords and phrases (identified as descriptors of the 15 core concepts) against the LOs. The frequency of individual words and two-word phrases for each core concept was calculated and ranked. There was variability in rating LOs for the same university among academic mappers; nevertheless, many of the 15 core concepts did not appear to be adequately covered in the LOs. Two core concepts most matched manually were in the top three most mapped by the software. These were, from most common, structure/function and interdependence. Our findings suggest a lack of alignment of LOs with the core concepts across Australian physiology curricula. This highlights the need for Australia-wide agreement on a set of core concepts in physiology as the first step in collaboratively improving assessment and learning and teaching practice in physiology.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first time an existing set of core concepts for physiology, developed by Michael and McFarland (U.S.-based educators), have been mapped against unit (subject) learning outcomes across physiology curricula in Australian universities to gauge uptake and the need for agreement on a set of core concepts in the Australian higher education context.

A blended learning exercise physiology theory module that supports student autonomy and improves academic performance.

A limited number of studies have explored the impact of blended exercise physiology theory curricula on student learning and experience. This study aimed to investigate the impact of an exercise physiology blended learning theory module on student performance, engagement, and perceptions. The module, which comprised a range of elements (student guide, lecturer-recorded videos, supplementary videos, formative quizzes, workshops, and discussion forum), was implemented in a third-year subject taken by students in nonspecialist undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees. Students chose which elements to engage with to support their learning. Exam performance was assessed by comparing exam marks from fully face-to-face delivery to the blended delivery with an independent t test. Student perceptions were determined via an end-of-module questionnaire comprised of Likert-scale questions and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted on the Likert-scale responses, and qualitative content analysis was conducted on the open-ended responses. Student engagement with online resources was determined through analysis of access statistics from the learning management system. Student exam marks in the blended learning student group were significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than in the face-to-face group, even though the questions were of a higher Bloom's level in the blended learning group. Students preferred blended delivery over fully face-to-face delivery. Most students accessed the student guide, lecturer-recorded videos, and quizzes, with supplementary videos, workshops, and discussion forums accessed by fewer students. In conclusion, a blended exercise physiology theory module improved student exam performance and was positively perceived by students, and engagement with the elements of the module was varied.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Few studies have explored the impact of blended delivery of exercise physiology theory curricula on student learning and experience. This study investigated the impact of a novel blended model on student learning and experience. The module comprised a range of elements (student guide, lecturer-recorded videos, supplementary videos, formative quizzes, workshops, and discussion forum), where students were able to choose which elements to engage with to support their learning.

Teaching students to explain the pathophysiology of diseases to lay audiences with a scaffold that supports student choice.

Expert educators in science argue that science graduates are often lacking skills in effectively communicating scientific information to lay audiences. To address this, we designed a project, Communicating Disease, for final-year undergraduate human pathophysiology students. Students chose a disease, a relevant nonscientific target audience, and a mode of communication and produced a communiqué designed to educate the audience on the pathophysiology of the disease. Separately, students justified their choice of disease and target audience. Upon completion of the project, students completed an anonymous questionnaire, and their submitted work was analyzed. Our study demonstrated that students thought it was important to learn how to effectively communicate science to a lay audience and felt that the project had supported them in developing knowledge and skills that enabled them to do so. Students were adequately challenged, and most students gave their best effort to the project, indicating a high level of engagement. Evaluation of student performance was consistent with the students' own perceptions and showed that most students communicated the pathophysiology effectively to the target audience and appropriately justified their choice of disease and target audience. Nevertheless, opportunities for improvement with some aspects of communication, production quality, and creativity were evident. This model is suitable for a range of scientific disciplines to engage students in developing their ability to communicate scientific information to lay audiences-a skill that it can be argued is vital for improving the scientific literacy of our community at large.

Reflex ankle stiffness is inversely correlated with natural body sway.

We aimed to determine whether effective ankle stiffness (EAS), measured during slow unperceived perturbations of stance, is related to natural anterior-posterior body sway. Because the perturbations are not perceived, any neural component of the response to perturbation is assumed to be "reflex", in the broad sense of an involuntary response to a stimulus. Subjects stood on a force platform for three 10-min trials. EAS was obtained from the average slope (Δτ/Δα) of the relation between ankle torque (τ) and ankle angle (α), recorded during repeated perturbations delivered at the waist by a weak spring. EAS was normalised using the subject's "load stiffness" (LS), calculated from mass (m) and height (h) above the ankle joint (m·g·h). Sway was obtained from fluctuations in ankle angle prior to perturbation. Variation in EAS and sway between subjects provided spread of data for correlation. There were no significant changes in EAS or sway across trials. All subjects had higher EAS than LS and mean EAS (1124 N m/rad) was significantly greater (p<0.01) than mean LS (531 N m/rad). There was a strong significant inverse correlation between mean sway and mean normalised EAS (r=-0.68, p=0.03). We conclude that the body, in response to slow unperceived perturbations, simulates an inverted pendulum with a stiffness of about twice LS and that EAS is largely generated by neural modulation of postural muscles. The inverse correlation between EAS and body sway suggests that the reflex mechanisms responding to perturbation also influence the extent of natural sway.

The effectiveness of separating theory and practicum as a conduit to learning physiology.

Many conventional science courses contain subjects embedded with laboratory-based activities. However, research on the benefits of positioning the practicals within the theory subject or developing them distinctly from the theory is largely absent. This report compared results in a physiology theory subject among three different cohorts of students: those taking the theory subject alone, those taking it concurrent with a physiology practicum subject, and those who previously took the subject when it had practicums embedded within the one subject. The path model shows that students taking both physiology theory and physiology practicum attained a significantly higher result in online tests compared with those who took the theory subject alone (P < 0.05) and that this translated to a significantly higher result in the end-of-semester examination. Similarly, students taking both physiology theory and the physiology practicum attained a significantly higher end-examination result compared with those who took the physiology subject in previous years when the practicums were embedded within the theory subject (P < 0.05). In both cases, this increase was largely attained in components that tested critical thinking and deep learning (short theory application questions and extended written questions). We conclude that students undertaking both physiology theory and the physiology practicum likely performed better in the theory subject due to better problem-solving skills and a more developed understanding of theoretical content. We suggest that consideration be given in all science curricula to the separation of theory and practicum by developing two subjects with clearly defined different learning outcomes.