Engaging students as partners to develop learning activities to address gaps in PhysPharm 2000 curriculum
Session Type
Poster
Room
The Great Hall, Somerville House (room 3326)
Start Date
17-7-2025 4:00 PM
End Date
17-7-2025 6:00 PM
Keywords
Introductory science courses, student perspective, focus groups, learning activities, student success
Primary Threads
Curriculum
Abstract
Introductory physiology courses, similar to other large introductory courses, are a common area of struggle for students, because they require extensive memorization and the expectation of mastery of complex concepts. These courses lay the necessary foundation for students to succeed in upper year courses. Student perspective is needed to assess how well these introductory courses prepare students for upper year courses. Engaging with the student perspective can be effective at identifying barriers to learning and gaps in content within a course or program. PhysPharm 2000 is a new course (2022) at Western University that teaches introductory human physiology and pharmacology. It is therefore important to determine if it effectively supports students throughout the Physiology and Pharmacology program. Focus groups were used to capture the student perspective from those who took PhysPharm 2000 in 2022 and were enrolled in a fourth-year PhysPharm course in the 2024/25 school year. Focus group analysis revealed that understanding professors’ expectations for assignments and tests in PhysPharm 2000, as well as upper-year courses, were a challenge, and that the reproductive unit was a common area of struggle. A new learning activity was developed to address this gap using evidence-based practices such as drawing to connect concepts. This study has identified that professor communication could also minimize barriers to student learning in physiology courses, allowing professors to support students more easily and more efficiently. A human ethics application was approved by WREM (REB number: 125457).
Elements of Engagement
Participants will be asked to reflect on their own experiences and struggles with learning or teaching physiology. A new learning activity on reproductive hormones will also be proposed for PhysPharm 2000 and will be available for WCSE attendees to engage with.
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Engaging students as partners to develop learning activities to address gaps in PhysPharm 2000 curriculum
The Great Hall, Somerville House (room 3326)
Introductory physiology courses, similar to other large introductory courses, are a common area of struggle for students, because they require extensive memorization and the expectation of mastery of complex concepts. These courses lay the necessary foundation for students to succeed in upper year courses. Student perspective is needed to assess how well these introductory courses prepare students for upper year courses. Engaging with the student perspective can be effective at identifying barriers to learning and gaps in content within a course or program. PhysPharm 2000 is a new course (2022) at Western University that teaches introductory human physiology and pharmacology. It is therefore important to determine if it effectively supports students throughout the Physiology and Pharmacology program. Focus groups were used to capture the student perspective from those who took PhysPharm 2000 in 2022 and were enrolled in a fourth-year PhysPharm course in the 2024/25 school year. Focus group analysis revealed that understanding professors’ expectations for assignments and tests in PhysPharm 2000, as well as upper-year courses, were a challenge, and that the reproductive unit was a common area of struggle. A new learning activity was developed to address this gap using evidence-based practices such as drawing to connect concepts. This study has identified that professor communication could also minimize barriers to student learning in physiology courses, allowing professors to support students more easily and more efficiently. A human ethics application was approved by WREM (REB number: 125457).