A workshop to enrich physiological understanding through hands-on learning about mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contact sites
Physiology is an important field for students to gain a better understanding of biological mechanisms. Yet, many students often find it difficult to learn from lectures, resulting in poor retention. Here, we utilize a learning workshop model to teach students at different levels ranging from middle school to undergraduate. We specifically designed a workshop to teach students about mitochondria<b>-</b>endoplasmic reticulum contact (MERC) sites. The workshop was implemented for middle school students in a laboratory setting that incorporated a pretest to gauge prior knowledge, instructional time, hands-on activities, interactive learning from experts, and a posttest. We observed that the students remained engaged during the session of interactive methods, teamed with their peers to complete tasks, and delighted in the experience. Implications for the design of future physiological workshops are further offered.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> This manuscript offers a design for a workshop that utilizes blended learning to engage middle school, high school, and undergraduate students while teaching them about mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contact sites.
Authors
- Clintoria R. Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7026-7737)
- Antentor Hinton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7730-952X)
- Andrea G. Marshall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9997-4478)
- Estêvão Scudese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7830-5416)
- Dominique Stephens
- Edgar Garza-López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0243-0816)
- Zachary Conley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9673-740X)
- Letimicia Fears
- Ahmad F. Alghanem (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5823-3806)
- Celestine N. Wanjalla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9159-5414)
- Derrick J. Morton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6070-0904)
- Kit Neikirk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0994-0333)
- Heather K. Beasley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4636-2889)
- Zer Vue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3502-8906)
- Chia Youyee Vang
- Annet Kirabo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8580-9359)
- Desmond Campbell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1085-714X)
- Yelena Janumyan Doe
- Sulema Perales
- Beverly Owens
Institutions
- University of Southern California (US)
- University of Iowa (US)
- Kaiser Permanente (US)
- Wright State University (US)
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (SA)
- Universidade Católica de Petrópolis (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- AJP Advances in Physiology Education
- Published
- 2024-09-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00271.2023
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.47
Funders
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
- Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center