Understanding the Neuronal Controls Behind Heart Rate and Respiration

Students in the course Physiology and Disease at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy learn physiology by designing, executing and evaluating their own experiments based on evidence. This semester, students designed laboratory experiments that involved the use of the same type of exercise to increase both heart rate and respiration rate. Students will collect quantitative data from these experiments to make conclusions regarding the correlation of heart rate and respiration rate. This will be followed by student research into the neuronal controls in the brain that were responsible for these correlations

Biomedical Engineering - an Art or a Science?

Students discussed recent advances in technology and classified them as belonging to science or engineering. Students were introduced to the human heart and its mechanics, after which they brainstormed in groups to build their own life-sized heart models, choosing from the materials provided and demonstrated their working models to each other. Students were encouraged to create diseases in their heart models and explain how they would correlate this to real\u27life experiences. Students were also introduced to my newest project, arduino heart rate monitors and asked to suggest creative projects that they could work on in the near future

Graphic Novels in Biology – A Novel Assessment Idea

Galileo once said, “You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.” (Goodreads, 2020). I have often pondered upon how best I could use this advice. I have been an educator for 24 years and have loved every minute of it. During this time, I have seen students of all cadres come and go, but they all have one thing in common - their innate fear of written assessments. In general, students in high school tend to have a different perspective on education than their adult counterparts - they tend to procrastinate, are usually terrible at managing their time and are very creative at coming up with excuses for their poor performance on assessments, with few exceptions. On the other hand, there are always a handful of good students, who work very hard and manage to reflect their passion for learning in their articulation on assessments

Diversity and Equity during CoVID 19: An Analysis of Student Attitude and Understanding in Pathophysiology

To increase student engagement and reduce frustration over grades, data is being collected in my Pathophysiology classes on specific assessment questions which require students to think and apply what they have learned to answer assessment questions (“transfer” questions). These questions are being administered both before and after students have completed specific modules to assess their attitude and understanding of the material. Data is also being collected on student study habits before and after specific assessments for correlation with their scores on “transfer” questions. It is hoped to reduce student frustration over grades by analyzing their behavior and improving their understanding

Engaging students in equitable hands-on assessments

I have successfully replaced written assessments with more equitable and innovative hands-on projects such as heart modeling and creating graphic novels in my classroom, which help improve student engagement and stimulate their passion for learning

High School Physiology Innovations: the Arduino Blood Pressure Monitor

Students in my Physiology and Disease (PAD) which is a Biology elective at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), Aurora, Illinois, measure heart rates and blood pressure to study the correlation between these parameters. IMSA is a residential magnate school for students gifted in math and science. I have evolved my PAD class to be based upon student centered learning, which has proven to be the best way to challenge students to take responsibility for their own learning. Several opportunities are provided to students for hands-on experiences, such as building a working model of the pumping heart and measuring body parameters such as heart rate, lung capacity and blood pressure before and after exercise. Students normally measure their blood pressure using sphygmomanometers while exercising. To enhance student learning and improve integration between different disciplines, an interdisciplinary and collaborative project was introduced where students will modify the previously introduced Arduino heart rate monitor to make the Arduino blood pressure monitor. This will help them understand the connections between programming and measurement. This project build upon previous integration of different disciplines such as biology, computer science and physics, encouraging collaboration between students proficient in any or all of these disciplines. It is hoped that students will understand the working of the heart better by creating the Arduino blood pressure monitors. Student understanding of material as evidenced by their assessment scores improved significantly with the introduction of the mechanical heart model building assignment. At this time, students in my classes are currently completing the blood pressure model prototypes and their feedback for this project will be collected along with any suggestions for improvement or modification. Evaluation of this assessment includes appraisal of the quality, accuracy and creativity of student monitors. It is hoped to continue building upon this non-traditional method of modeling for other physiology concepts next semester, to further enhance student learning

Diversity and Inclusion in the Science Classroom

A Diversity, Epidemiology and social justice unit was incorporated into the Physiology and Disease curriculum in Fall 2016. Students discussed topics such as social and cultural influences on diversity thinking, and selective treatment in hospitals based on race. It was very noteworthy that students were united in their thinking regarding diversity and inclusion, despite the fact that they were from different backgrounds and diverse cultures. In 2017, additional discussions were held on equity in education. Students who were otherwise reserved were encouraged enough to express their views, and everyone appreciated the fact that they had been included

Successful Inquiry Based Activities in High School Physiology

Physiology and Disease students at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora employ inquiry driven activities to improve their understanding and articulation of the discipline. Students make heart models and make correlations with heart rate, lung capacity and blood pressure measurements. Students seemed to gain a better understanding of the cardiovascular unit as reflected in their heart unit assessment scores