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Assessing prebaccalaureate human physiology courses
1Department of Physiology, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202, USA.
The American Journal of Physiology
|September 15, 2005
Summary
Over 14,000 students annually enroll in undergraduate human physiology courses. However, these crucial prebaccalaureate programs often lack formal, consistent evaluation methods for courses and faculty.
Area of Science:
- Physiology Education
- Undergraduate Science Pedagogy
Background:
- Human physiology is a foundational science for many health professions.
- Prebaccalaureate physiology courses serve a significant number of undergraduate students.
Purpose of the Study:
- To survey demographic data of prebaccalaureate human physiology courses.
- To investigate evaluation methods for these courses and their faculty.
Main Methods:
- Two surveys conducted between 1994-1996.
- Data collected from responding physiology departments on course offerings, student enrollment, and evaluation practices.
Main Results:
- 50% of responding departments offered human physiology to 14,185 students annually.
- Student feedback was universally used for evaluation.
- Formal methods like peer or chair review were inconsistently applied.
Conclusions:
- A substantial undergraduate student population engages with prebaccalaureate physiology.
- Current evaluation practices for these courses and faculty are often informal and lack consistency.
- There is a need for improved, standardized formative evaluation in undergraduate physiology education.