文章基本信息

标题：Development of low-cost cardiac and skeletal muscle laboratory activities to teach physiology concepts and the scientific method
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作者：Jennifer L. Judge ; Victor A. Cazares ; Zoe Thompson 等
期刊名称：Advances in Physiology Education
印刷版ISSN：1043-4046
电子版ISSN：1522-1229
出版年度：2020
卷号：44
期号：2
页码：181-187
DOI：10.1152/advan.00149.2019
出版社：The American Physiological Society
摘要：Anatomy and Physiology courses taught at community colleges tend to focus laboratory hours primarily on anatomy as opposed to physiology. However, research demonstrates that, when instructors utilize active learning approaches (such as in laboratory settings) where students participate in their own learning, students have improved outcomes, such as higher test scores and better retention of material. To provide community college students with opportunities for active learning in physiology, we developed two laboratory exercises to engage students in cardiac and skeletal muscle physiology. We utilized low-cost SpikerBox devices to measure electrical activity during cardiac (electrocardiogram) and skeletal muscle (electromyogram) contraction. Laboratory activities were employed in Anatomy and Physiology courses at two community colleges in southeast Michigan. A 2-h laboratory period was structured with a 20-min slide presentation covering background material on the subject and experiments to examine the effects of environmental variables on nervous system control of cardiac and skeletal muscle contraction. Students were asked to provide hypotheses and proposed mechanisms, complete a results section, and provide conclusions for the experiments based on their results. Our laboratory exercises improved student learning in physiology and knowledge of the scientific method and were well-received by community college students enrolled in Anatomy and Physiology. Our results demonstrate that the use of a SpikerBox for cardiac and skeletal muscle physiology concepts is a low-cost and effective approach to integrate physiology activities into an Anatomy and Physiology course.
关键词：community college; lab activities; physiology; scientific method