Muddy Mondays, Working Wednesdays, Freaky Fridays: how physiology course structure and weekly rhythms support student...

To advance efforts for assessing professional development in undergraduate physiology coursework, our study investigates how students described aspects of course structure in an introductory physiology course in relation to transferable skills for other professional pursuits. The study context was a large-enrollment undergraduate physiology course that was redesigned to use weekly classroom assessment techniques and active learning. Based on the theoretical framework of transfer of learning and the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) informed by critical disability theory, we conducted a qualitative inquiry of written responses through deductive and inductive content analysis. We found that the vast majority of students described how aspects of course structure supported their transferable skill development, often highlighting the weekly rhythm: Muddy Mondays, Working Wednesdays, and Freaky Fridays. Furthermore, students provided evidence of applying strategies from a single course to other courses, in alignment with UDL principles as well as the Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG) career competencies. Our study offers a comprehensive overview of how multiple components of course structure can support transferable skill development, with implications for education researchers who assess and instructors who apply active learning strategies in instructional design for undergraduate physiology courses.NEW & NOTEWORTHY In alignment with Universal Design for Learning principles as well as the Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG) career competencies, this study offers a comprehensive overview of how multiple components of course structure can support transferable skill development, with implications for education researchers who assess and instructors who apply active learning strategies in instructional design for undergraduate physiology courses.