The ImmunoSkills Guide: Competencies for undergraduate immunology curricula

Immune literacy garnered significant attention in recent years due to the threat posed by emerging infectious diseases. The pace of immunological discoveries and their relevance to society are substantial yet coordinated educational efforts have been rare. This motivated us to create a task force of educators to reflect on pedagogical approaches to teaching immunology and to draft, develop, and evaluate key competencies for undergraduate immunology education. The research questions addressed include: 1) Which competencies are considered important by educators? 2) Are the illustrative skills clear, accurate and well aligned with the core competencies listed in the Vision and Change report?; 3) What are the concerns of immunology educators about competencies and skills? We collected data on the draft competencies using surveys, focus groups, and interviews. The iterative revision phase followed the community review phase before finalizing the framework. Here, we report a hierarchical learning framework, with six core competencies, twenty illustrative skills, and companion immunology-specific example learning outcomes. Predominant themes from interviews and focus groups, which informed revisions of this framework are shared. With the growing need for immunology education across the sciences, the ImmunoSkills Guide and accompanying discussion can be used as a resource for educators, administrators and policymakers.

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Publication Details

Journal
PLoS ONE
Published
2024-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313339
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Innovative Teaching Methods
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
18.86

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article

The ImmunoSkills Guide: Competencies for undergraduate immunology curricula

Louis B. Justement, Philip F. Mixter, Sumali Pandey, Sarah Sletten et al.
9 citations
PLoS ONE
Innovative Teaching Methods
18.86
article

The ImmunoSkills Guide: Competencies for undergraduate immunology curricula

Louis B. Justement, Philip F. Mixter, Sumali Pandey, Sarah Sletten, Heather A. Bruns, Thiru Vanniasinkam, Brian D. Wisenden, Rebekah T. Taylor, Archana Lal, Justine S. Liepkalns, Timothy D. Paustian, Danielle L. Jessen Condry, Samantha Elliott, Adam J. Kleinschmit, Rebecca L. Sparks-Thissen
article en
9 citations

Abstract

Immune literacy garnered significant attention in recent years due to the threat posed by emerging infectious diseases. The pace of immunological discoveries and their relevance to society are substantial yet coordinated educational efforts have been rare. This motivated us to create a task force of educators to reflect on pedagogical approaches to teaching immunology and to draft, develop, and evaluate key competencies for undergraduate immunology education. The research questions addressed include: 1) Which competencies are considered important by educators? 2) Are the illustrative skills clear, accurate and well aligned with the core competencies listed in the Vision and Change report?; 3) What are the concerns of immunology educators about competencies and skills? We collected data on the draft competencies using surveys, focus groups, and interviews. The iterative revision phase followed the community review phase before finalizing the framework. Here, we report a hierarchical learning framework, with six core competencies, twenty illustrative skills, and companion immunology-specific example learning outcomes. Predominant themes from interviews and focus groups, which informed revisions of this framework are shared. With the growing need for immunology education across the sciences, the ImmunoSkills Guide and accompanying discussion can be used as a resource for educators, administrators and policymakers.

PLoS ONEVol. 19(11)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), University of Dubuque (US), Frostburg State University (US), Charles Sturt University (AU), Minnesota State University Moorhead (US), University of North Dakota (US), Labette Community College (US), University of Alabama at Birmingham (US), Indiana University School of Medicine, North Dakota State University (US), Indiana University (US), Washington State University (US), St. Mary's College of Maryland (US), Colorado State University (US)
National Science Foundation, Strong
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Innovative Teaching Methods
18.86
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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