Engaging Student Attention with Active Learning and Creative Projects in Parasitology Courses

Engaging the attention of undergraduates in a parasitology course is challenging for a variety of reasons: social media and online shopping compete for the instructor's attention, undergraduates have diverse backgrounds (i.e., socio-economically and racially) and different learning styles, and parasitology requires remembering numerous Latin species names, scientific terms, and easily confused parasitic life cycles. Active learning strategies and creative projects can help overcome these challenges by placing the student at the center of instruction. Active learning pedagogy, which takes place in the classroom, encourages student knowledge, understanding, problem solving, and critical thinking. Creative projects can be assigned outside the classroom and engage student imagination, making learning more fun and more memorable. Compared to traditional lectures, these strategies facilitate greater student participation and engagement, resulting in positive learning outcomes. We provide descriptions and examples of active learning strategies as well as creative projects that can be used in parasitology courses.