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Promoting and sharing excellence in HE teaching Dr Manasi Nandi Senior Lecturer Pharmacology King’s College London Overview Common Year One BSc. Large group wet lab practical teaching (420 students) In vivo training Msc. (15 students) Final year BSc. decision making skills (70 students) Disclaimer: RCT has not been conducted to assess efficacy of teaching interventions. Qualitative/feedback and scoring will be used to describe impact of changes. Large group practical teaching Common year one….the problems CYO large number of students (~420) …but we need to provide wet lab experience – Motivate and excite – Develop conceptual and theoretical knowledge, visualise and affirm theory – Develop manual dexterity, understand nature and methods of science – Develop independent scientific enquiry, theorise, generalise, critique, hypothesise. (Kerr 1963, Hodson 1998, Woolnaugh and Allsop 1985) Consolidate lectures on ‘drugs and ‘receptors’ Hands on pharmacology expt. and data handling Complement computer aided learning “Is it to get a feel for the lab environment?” Guinea pig ileum Organ bath Characterising receptor antagonists “Is it about animal testing and using research animals?” “ To know what you are getting yourself into if you wish to do a research career?” Focus groups pre-lab practical • Previous experience of other lab classes: • “I remember better if it is something I actually did. I ‘know’ but now I ‘understand’” • “If you have a positive experience it helps you to remember” • “If you make a mistake, that’s all you remember…” • “If it is well explained where you went wrong, then you correct yourself and you learn more…otherwise you just focus on why it went wrong” • “But sometimes different tutors say different things...confusing” Structure of the class – before changes Set up Intro Expt • Staff set up ~30 organ baths with guinea pig ileum, check tissue viability, software, hardware • Staff make up serial dilutions of drugs • 60 students per class • Verbal introduction to practical • Explanation molar concentrations/doses calc. etc • Students shown experimental set up on each bench • Work in pairs – dose calculations • Then give agonist, antagonist – collect data • Analyse individual and class data and write report Focus group…post lab practical “Boring to have everything set up” “Would have been cool to watch somebody set it up” “After 10 minutes, I suddenly clicked that this was about the computer based exercise” “I struggled with calculations, didn’t really know what we were supposed to know….everyone tapping on calculators and I felt left behind….” “I’ve never been in such a lab before, there were lots of different things going on all around” Blended learning – videos to aid teaching and learning Experimental set up Practical preparation of drug solutions/dilutions Theoretical preparation of drug solutions/dilutions “I really enjoyed watching the video and it is definitely great preparation for the practical. I know I would have benefited if it had been available last year… as I am a visual learner” Lessons learned – changes made • Clearly explain intended learning outcomes in both the course book and within class • Maximise chances of experiment going to plan • Provide means for students to see how experiment was set up • Provide method to aid with numeracy, drug dosing, data handling etc. • Provide training for all tutors/support staff “In vivo” experimental skills training Translational research • Multiple concepts incl. ethics, handling, anaesthetic, complex surgery, data interpretation, welfare, Home Office regulations etc…. • Technically challenging surgical techniques • Often complex data interpretation e.g. stress artefacts Cardiovascular system theory Give protocol Too much information? What skills do we actually want the students to leave with? Data acquisition & analysis Interpretation cardiovascular theory Soufflé in a day? …or teach principles of baking – preparation, identifying hazards, problem solving, troubleshooting…. • “If you have a positive experience it helps you to remember…. • ….if you make a mistake, that’s all you remember…” • In 1-2 days students are unlikely to be fully competent in specific technique… • There’s no ‘real life’ situation where detailed in vivo surgery training would not be provided until employee is competent • Biological variability in class, flawed set up will result in ‘imperfect data’ distracting students from ILO. Is manual dexterity less important? Are methods of science, experimental design, theorise, hypothesis generation more important/relevant? (Stevens and Sewell 1993; Hodson 1993) Specific biological concepts Experimental design, sample size estimates, blinding, randomisation Data handling, analysis, statistics In vivo research tools/ techniques Regulation, ethics, welfare Using blended learning before and during class to introduce multiple concepts Cardiovascular system theory Cardiovascular system theory Students research topic in class Give Protocol, students follow Students design experiment in class What does the HOL allow? FLIP CLASS Data acquisition & analysis Hand experimental design and ethical considerations over to students How will you analyse data? Students run their expt.with tutor Interpretation cardiovascular theory Interpretation cardiovascular theory Too many concepts? Students miss ILO To be tested….watch this space. Using smart phones in class – aiding students with information sourcing Courtesy of David Byrne, King’s College London 2014-2015 poll but in line with global data – android devices currently on increase Developing skills in decision making…. …without any wet lab hands on experience Drug Safety and Toxicology • Final year BSc. • 30 credits; 70 students • Academia, pharma, clinicians, regulatory expert lectures • Risk: benefit ratio and patient demographic critical Group A Decisions and conclusions 3 candidates, choose 1 95% overall student satisfaction 2014-2015 intake Numeracy 2012 31% A grade 2014 58% A grade Student confidence/understanding 2012 = 68 students 2014 = 66 students “Dragon's Den exercise was very practical and interesting - not like anything I'd done before! “…..helped to increase my evaluating experience and teamwork.” “Dragons den - really interactive way of consolidating information, great to be able to talk to experts first hand” “Brought everything together wonderfully!” “as an MBBS student I learnt a lot from working with other BSc students” “Was a very good way of understanding concepts that may have been difficult to understand alone” 2014/15 Student Feedback 6BBM0310 “Having really enjoyed the Dragon's Den I am now considering applying for graduate internships and jobs in the drug safety/regulatory affairs area” “Bang on, forced you think what things actually meant” Final lessons learned • Reduce in class delivered material and repackage • Online tools should be introduced and used/explained by tutor. Bespoke – including Q&A, instant feedback etc. • Small group practicals-consider flipping classroom and get students to design the experiment rather than telling them what to do – this may help consolidate ILO • Numeracy- identify weaker students through short exercises and run small group bespoke teaching • Provide training for all tutors, support staff - knowing an experiment is not the same as teaching it! • Quantify efficacy of our teaching interventions with same scientific rigor as applied to our research. Acknowledgements • • • • • • • • • KCL Pharmacology Teaching Department Sue Brain Ian McFadzean Lawrence Moon, Aileen King, Simon Pitchford Jude Hall (E-learning tool developer; Drug Safety module co-developer) KCL Technology Enhanced Learning: Jerome DiPietro, Vanessa Skiadelli, David Byrne KCL Learning Institute: Gabe Reedy Independent film makers/editors ….and all of our students….. Google and Powerpoint images used throughout