Incorporating Computers and Innovative Problem-Solving into the Human Physiology Lab Curriculum

人体生理学是生物学专业的一门基础课程，对未来的教师、卫生专业人员和研究人员特别感兴趣。人体生理学的教学传统上是通过使用动物模型来完成的，尽管用学生自己作为实验对象可以最好地向尽可能多的学生传达这门学科的相关性和兴奋性。使用人体模型的新实验方法需要设计，以保持强调生理学学科固有的“综合功能”，同时建立在丰富的细胞和分子科学知识库之上。学生在实验室可以学习人体生理学，同时也可以获得许多必要的技能，如计算机数据采集、合作学习和实验设计。可用数据采集软件的最新进展使这成为可能，并提供了一个令人兴奋的机会，使本科人体生理学课程发生根本性的变化。学生可以更多地关注综合概念和设计实验。学生也可以小组合作，完成基于问题的学习任务。他们可以通过关注身体对环境变化的急性和慢性适应，而不仅仅是了解休息条件。为了实现这些想法，我们建议建立8个计算机生理工作站来测量人体生理参数，并建立一个基于问题的学习课程，包括对环境应激的生理反应。学生们还将参加到当地中学的正式拓展计划，并被鼓励开展生理学方面的研究项目。

Human physiology is a fundamental course in the biology major of particular interest to future teachers, health professionals and researchers. The teaching of human physiology is traditionally done through the use of animal models, although the relevancy and excitement of the subject is best conveyed to the greatest number of students by using the students themselves as experimental subjects. New experimental approaches using the human model need to be designed which maintain an emphasis on "integrative function" which is inherent in the physiology discipline, and at the same time build upon a knowledge base rich in cell and molecular sciences. Students in the laboratory can learn human physiology while also acquiring many necessary skills, such as computerized data acquisition, cooperative learning, and experimental design. Recent advances in available data acquisition software make this possible, and presents an exciting opportunity to make fundamental changes in the undergraduate human physiology curriculum. Students can focus more on integrative concepts and design experiments. Students can also work in small groups on problem-based learning assignments. They can achieve more than just an understanding of resting conditions by focusing on the acute and chronic acclimatizations of the body to changes in the environment. To implement these ideas, we propose to establish 8 computerized physiology workstations to measure human physiological parameters and institute a problem-based learning curriculum involving physiological responses to environmental stress. Students will also participate in a formal outreach program to local middle schools and be encouraged to carry out research projects in physiology.