Advances in Physiology Education最新文献

The integration of large language models (LLMs) in medical education offers both opportunities and challenges. While these artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools can enhance access to information and support critical thinking, they also pose risks like potential overreliance and ethical concerns. To ensure ethical use, students and instructors must recognize the limitations of LLMs, maintain academic integrity, and handle data cautiously, and instructors should prioritize content quality over AI detection methods. LLMs can be used as supplementary aids rather than primary educational resources, with a focus on enhancing accessibility and equity and fostering a culture of feedback. Institutions should create guidelines that align with their unique educational values, providing clear frameworks that support responsible LLM usage while addressing risks associated with AI in education. Such guidelines should reflect the institution's pedagogical mission, whether centered on clinical practice, research, or a mix of both, and should be adaptable to evolving educational technologies.

John Wooden, the legendary University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) basketball coach, consistently emphasized the distinction between winning and true success. For Wooden, success was not about defeating others or standing out in a competition but about personal growth, self-improvement, and the pursuit of excellence. His philosophy offers a powerful lesson, particularly for educators, as they guide students through their academic journeys. Wooden's message highlights the importance of fostering an environment where success is measured by effort and progress, not merely by grades or test scores. Unfortunately, many educators seem to overlook this, focusing heavily on grades as the primary measure of achievement. By placing such a strong emphasis on grades, teachers inadvertently create a culture where students begin to equate their self-worth with their performance on a test. This not only diminishes the value of personal growth but also fosters anxiety and discouragement among students who may struggle academically. Students may begin to fear being wrong and avoid challenges and opportunities. This limits creativity and the chance to learn, grow, and contribute to society. Wooden's wisdom reminds us that educators have the power to influence how students perceive success. By encouraging a more holistic view of achievement, one that values hard work, resilience, and continuous improvement, teachers can help students develop a healthier, more positive understanding of what it means to succeed. In today's educational system, this shift is crucial, as too many students are being taught to see their value solely in terms of grades, rather than their personal and intellectual growth.

This article describes the implementation of alternative grading (AG) strategies in an upper-division Kinesiology and Functional Human Anatomy course. Traditional point-based grading systems can negatively impact student mental health, decrease intrinsic motivation, and hinder learning. To address these issues, a proficiency-based grading approach was adopted, emphasizing clearly defined standards, growth-oriented feedback, progress-indicating marks, and penalty-free reassessment opportunities. Course assessments included weekly write-ups, movement analyses, and practical examinations, with flexible submission timelines and revision opportunities. Student feedback through micro-assessment revealed reduced stress levels, improved time management across courses, and deeper engagement with course material. While implementation challenges existed, particularly around the initial faculty workload, the approach demonstrated significant learning gains while supporting student wellbeing. Our experience suggests that alternative grading strategies can maintain academic rigor while creating a more supportive and effective learning environment in science education.

Self-directed learning (SDL) is integral to medical education. It helps in fostering critical thinking, independence, and problem-solving skills. With advancements in technology, digital tools like search engines, interactive content, and large language model (LLM) chatbots have become supplementary tools to traditional materials such as textbooks. However, limited data exist on SDL resource preferences among medical students in India since the inception of LLM like ChatGPT. To address this, 64 medical students participated in a classroom-based SDL session on anemia. Students freely selected resources during a 40-minute preparation period, followed by 20 minutes of writing responses to a total of five higher-order knowledge questions (i.e., questions start with 'explain why'). Post-session, they anonymously reported their resource use. Among 63 valid responses, 47.62% used one resource, 39.68% used two, and 14.29% used three. Search engines (61.9%) and LLM chatbots (60.32%) were the most frequently used, followed by textbooks (26.98%), with less reliance on notes, journals, and videos. Hence, there is a growing preference for search engines and LLM chatbots as an educational tool in self-directed learning in a classroom setting.

Dramatization, a teaching method where each student acts out or mimics a cell or body parts, while the entire group represents the physiological process^1-4 was adapted to produce original teaching videos paired with a pre-test that activates memory, and a post-test to prevent misconceptions. Three physiology instructors collaborated on Zoom to create six DramaZoom videos (Dramatization via Zoom) focused on hormone signaling with negative feedback in different contexts. In these DramaZoom videos, each instructor personalizes a different part of an organ system or a physiological process which allows the visualization of complex concepts in endocrinology. DramaZoom videos utilize theater, personification, and humor to represent physiological processes in a fun and creative way that facilitates students to learn and remember the content. Our goal was to introduce DramaZoom videos as an original teaching tool, and present evidence of its efficacy on student learning. We analyzed the impact of DramaZoom videos on students' knowledge acquisition at three distinct levels (1st-year Medical Students, 3^rd-4^th year Undergraduate Science Students, and 1st-year Undergraduate Nursing students) and investigated whether the mode of delivery of the DramaZoom videos (face-to-face during regular classroom teaching, or asynchronous in a virtual classroom) affected student learning. Our data show that knowledge in all three student groups improved significantly after viewing DramaZoom videos independently of the mode of delivery. In conclusion, our data indicates that DramaZoom videos combined with memory activation due to the pre-test are an effective tool to instruct this cohort of students regardless of the level and delivery mode.

The alignment of learning materials with the learning objectives (LOs) is critical for successfully implementing the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum. This study investigated the capabilities of Gemini Advanced, a large language model (LLM), in creating clinical vignettes that align with LOs, and comprehensive tutor guides. This study used a faculty-written clinical vignette about diabetes mellitus for third-year medical students. We submitted the LOs and the associated clinical vignette and tutor guide to the LLM to evaluate their alignment and generate new versions. Four faculty members compared both versions using a structured questionnaire. The mean evaluation scores for original and LLM-generated versions are reported. The LLM identified new triggers for the clinical vignette to align it better with the LOs. Moreover, it restructured the tutor guide for better organization and flow and included thought-provoking questions. The medical information provided by the LLM was scientifically appropriate and accurate. LLM-generated clinical vignette scored higher (3.0 vs. 1.25) for the alignment with the LOs. However, the original version scored better for being educational-level appropriate (2.25 vs. 1.25) and adhering to PBL design (2.50 vs. 1.25). The LLM-generated tutor guide scored higher for better flow (3.0 vs. 1.25), comprehensive and relevant content (2.75 vs. 1.50) and thought-provoking questions (2.25 vs. 1.75). However, LLM-generated learning material lacked visual elements. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that Gemini could align and improve PBL learning materials. By leveraging the potential of LLMs while acknowledging their limitations, medical educators can create innovative and effective learning experiences for future physicians.

Despite extensive studies on large language models and their capability to respond to questions from various licensed exams, there has been limited focus on employing chatbots for specific subjects within the medical curriculum, specifically medical neuroscience. This research compared the performances of Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Anthropic), GPT-3.5, GPT-4-1106 (OpenAI), Copilot free version (Microsoft), and Gemini 1.5 Flash (Google) versus students on MCQs from the medical neuroscience course database to evaluate chatbots reliability. 5 successive attempts of each chatbot to answer 200 USMLE-style questions were evaluated based on accuracy, relevance, and comprehensiveness. MCQs were categorized into 12 categories/topics. The results indicated that at the current level of development, selected AI-driven chatbots, on average, can accurately answer 67.2% of MCQs from the medical neuroscience course, which is 7.4% below the students' average. However, Claude and GPT-4 outperformed other chatbots with 83% and 81.7% correct answers, which is better than the average student result. They followed by Copilot - 59.5%, GPT-3.5 - 58.3%, and Gemini - 53.6%. Concerning different categories, Neurocytology, Embryology, and Diencephalon were the three best topics, with average results of 78.1% - 86.7%, and the lowest results were Brainstem, Special senses, and Cerebellum, with 54.4% - 57.7% correct answers. Our study suggested that Claude and GPT-4 are currently two of the most evolved chatbots. They exhibit proficiency in answering MCQs related to neuroscience that surpasses that of the average medical student. This breakthrough indicates a significant milestone in how AI can supplement and enhance educational tools and techniques.

Changes in the national examination structures have renewed interest in the development of test-taking strategies for professional students in the health sciences. It is often assumed that these high-achieving students have developed proficient test-taking skills and abilities before admittance. However, the assessments in these programs and for national licensure require an elevated level of reasoning and integration with clinical concepts. It was hypothesized that the implementation of an immersive test-taking strategies program would improve dental student perceptions of their abilities. A "toolbox" of four methods was implemented, which included 1) an introductory video that provided students with 10 tips for approaching high-level exam questions; 2) problem solution videos interspersed with class practice problems to walk students independently through rationales; 3) collaborative group assessments in which students implemented the strategies in teams to prepare for exams; and 4) unit exam debriefings to review the question rationales. Although all methods were positively reviewed on surveys, students indicated that the problem solution videos and the collaborative group assessments were more helpful and improved their test-taking skills significantly more than the other strategies (P < 0.01, 1-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test). Students felt they had developed strong test-taking strategies (average of 4.21 on a 5-point scale, SD 0.76) and felt more prepared for the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (4.48, SD 0.66). These results suggest that a multipronged approach with frequent opportunities to practice test-taking strategies can improve student perceptions of their ability to master high-level and integrated assessment questions.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Professional students in the health sciences may need to improve their test-taking skills for high-level and integrated assessments. A toolbox of strategies was implemented in a Dental Physiology course that included an introductory video, problem solution videos for practice problems, collaborative group assessments, and unit exam debriefings. The students reported that the strategies were helpful, improving their preparation and test-taking strategies for summative exams such as the Integrated National Board Dental Examination.