{"title":"Choose your own T-cell fate: creation of a narrative-based, decision-making activity to engage students in immunology.","authors":"Helen E Ritchie, Gareth Denyer, Kylie E Webster","doi":"10.1111/imcb.12833","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Undergraduate courses in immunology are content-heavy and combined with a new, complex vocabulary, can be an overwhelming subject for students. In-class active learning approaches have been found to improve understanding of difficult concepts in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines; however, many undergraduate courses maintain a high dependence on lecture-style teaching because of time constraints, content demands and student resistance. We designed an online, out-of-class activity, the \"Life and Death of a T cell\", to complement a lecture on a complex immunological concept, T-cell development. Inspired by the \"Choose Your Own Adventure\" children's books, a fictional narrative was created in which students assume the role of a cell with a dream of becoming a helper T cell. Decision-making scenarios then prompt students to draw on their knowledge from the lecture to successfully navigate the steps of T-cell development. The activity was built on two platforms, Google Forms and H5P (HTML 5 Package), both of which are readily accessible and allow the inclusion of branching logic and the creation of a decision tree-based activity. An anonymous survey revealed that students found this interactive approach enjoyable, and their perceived understanding of the content significantly increased. Students appreciated the inclusion of a novel learning resource, with requests for similar activities to be developed for other immunological concepts. In conclusion, we developed a narrative-based, decision-making activity to complement a lecture on T-cell development. As an out-of-class activity, this style of learning approach can potentially capitalize on the benefits of active learning, while also overcoming barriers of student resistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":179,"journal":{"name":"Immunology & Cell Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Immunology & Cell Biology","FirstCategoryId":"2","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/imcb.12833","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CELL BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Undergraduate courses in immunology are content-heavy and combined with a new, complex vocabulary, can be an overwhelming subject for students. In-class active learning approaches have been found to improve understanding of difficult concepts in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines; however, many undergraduate courses maintain a high dependence on lecture-style teaching because of time constraints, content demands and student resistance. We designed an online, out-of-class activity, the "Life and Death of a T cell", to complement a lecture on a complex immunological concept, T-cell development. Inspired by the "Choose Your Own Adventure" children's books, a fictional narrative was created in which students assume the role of a cell with a dream of becoming a helper T cell. Decision-making scenarios then prompt students to draw on their knowledge from the lecture to successfully navigate the steps of T-cell development. The activity was built on two platforms, Google Forms and H5P (HTML 5 Package), both of which are readily accessible and allow the inclusion of branching logic and the creation of a decision tree-based activity. An anonymous survey revealed that students found this interactive approach enjoyable, and their perceived understanding of the content significantly increased. Students appreciated the inclusion of a novel learning resource, with requests for similar activities to be developed for other immunological concepts. In conclusion, we developed a narrative-based, decision-making activity to complement a lecture on T-cell development. As an out-of-class activity, this style of learning approach can potentially capitalize on the benefits of active learning, while also overcoming barriers of student resistance.
免疫学本科课程内容繁杂,再加上新的、复杂的词汇,对学生来说可能是一门难以承受的学科。研究发现,课内主动学习方法可以提高学生对科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学科中困难概念的理解;然而,由于时间限制、内容要求和学生的抵触情绪,许多本科课程仍然高度依赖讲授式教学。我们设计了一个名为 "T 细胞的生与死 "的在线课外活动,以补充关于 T 细胞发育这一复杂免疫学概念的讲座。受 "选择你自己的冒险"(Choose Your Own Adventure)儿童读物的启发,我们设计了一个虚构的故事,让学生扮演一个梦想成为辅助性 T 细胞的细胞。然后,决策情景会促使学生利用讲座中的知识成功完成 T 细胞发育的各个步骤。该活动建立在两个平台上:Google Forms 和 H5P(HTML 5 软件包),这两个平台都很容易访问,并允许加入分支逻辑和创建基于决策树的活动。一项匿名调查显示,学生们认为这种互动方法很有趣,而且他们对教学内容的理解能力明显提高。学生们对这种新颖的学习资源表示赞赏,并要求为其他免疫学概念开发类似的活动。总之,我们开发了一种基于叙事的决策活动,以补充有关 T 细胞发育的讲座。作为一种课外活动,这种学习方式既能发挥主动学习的优势,又能克服学生的抵触情绪。
期刊介绍:
The Australasian Society for Immunology Incorporated (ASI) was created by the amalgamation in 1991 of the Australian Society for Immunology, formed in 1970, and the New Zealand Society for Immunology, formed in 1975. The aim of the Society is to encourage and support the discipline of immunology in the Australasian region. It is a broadly based Society, embracing clinical and experimental, cellular and molecular immunology in humans and animals. The Society provides a network for the exchange of information and for collaboration within Australia, New Zealand and overseas. ASI members have been prominent in advancing biological and medical research worldwide. We seek to encourage the study of immunology in Australia and New Zealand and are active in introducing young scientists to the discipline.