Mapping the core concepts of physiology across Australian university curricula

A National Task force of 25 Australian physiology educators used the Delphi protocol to develop seven physiology core concepts which were agreed to nationally. The aim of the current study was to unpack the 'Physiological Adaptation' core concept with the descriptor 'Organisms adjust and adapt to acute and chronic changes in the internal and external environments across the lifespan'. This core concept was unpacked by three Task force members and a facilitator into four themes and nine subthemes that encompass the role of stressors and disturbed homeostasis in adaptation, and the capacity for, and the nature of, the Physiological Adaptation. Twenty-two Task force members then provided feedback and rated the themes and subthemes for level of importance and difficulty for students to learn via an online survey using a 5-point Likert scale. Seventeen respondents completed all survey questions. For all themes/subthemes, importance was rated 1 (essential) or 2 (important; n=17, means ±SD ranged from 1.1±0.3 to 2.2±0.9) and difficulty was rated 3 (moderately difficult; n=17, means ranged from 2.9±0.7 to 3.4±0.9). Subtle differences in the proportion of importance scores (n=17: Fishers exact p=0.004, ANOVA F12,220=2.630, p=0.003; n=22: Fishers exact p=0.002, ANOVA F12,281=2.743, p<0.001), but not difficulty scores, were observed between themes/subthemes, and free-text feedback was minor. The results suggest successful unpacking of the Physiological Adaptation core concept. The themes and subthemes can inform the design of learning outcomes, assessment, and teaching and learning activities that have commonality and consistency across curricula.

Unpacking and validating the “physiological adaptation” core concept of physiology

Estaphan,

Wadley,

Todd

et al. 2023

Establishing consensus for the core concepts of physiology in the Australian higher education context using the Delphi method

Tangalakis

Lexis

Hryciw

et al. 2023

A set of core concepts ('big ideas') integral to the discipline of Human Physiology is important for students to understand and in turn, demonstrate their capacity to apply. We found poor mapping of an existing set of core concepts against subject learning outcomes across physiology curricula in undergraduate degree programs throughout Australian universities. One plausible reason is that the existing set of core concepts do not resonate with Australian physiology educators. The objective of this project was to reach Australia-wide consensus on a set of core concepts for physiology, to be embedded in curricula across Australian universities. A four-phase Delphi protocol was employed, starting with the invitation and acceptance of Physiology educators with extensive teaching and curriculum development expertise, from 25 Australian universities, to form a Task Force. Following two online meetings and a survey, the Task Force reached agreement on 7 core concepts of physiology and their descriptors, which were then sent out to the physiology educator community across Australia. The 7 core concepts and their associated descriptions were endorsed through this process (n=138). In addition, embedding the core concepts across the curriculum was supported by both Task Force members (85.7%) and educators (82.1%). The 7 adopted core concepts of Physiology were: Cell Membrane, Cell-cell Communication, Movement of Substances, Structure and Function, Homeostasis, Integration and Physiological Adaptation. The core concepts were subsequently unpacked into themes and sub-themes and if adopted, will result in consistency across curricula in undergraduate Physiology programs and allow benchmarking.

Unpacking the homeostasis core concept in physiology: an Australian perspective

Beckett,

Gaganis,

Bakker

et al. 2023

Australia-wide consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology, which included Homeostasis, a fundamental concept for students to understand as they develop their basic knowledge of physiological regulatory mechanisms. The term homeostasis is most commonly used to describe how the internal environment of mammalian systems maintains relative constancy. The descriptor 'the internal environment of the organism is actively regulated by the responses of cells, tissues, and organs through feedback systems', was unpacked by a team of three Australian Physiology educators into five themes and 18 sub-themes arranged in a hierarchy. Using a 5-point Likert scale, the unpacked concept was rated by 24 physiology educators from 24 Australian Universities for level of importance and level of difficulty for students. Survey data was analyzed using a one-way ANOVA to compare between and within concept themes and sub-themes. There were no differences in main themes for level of importance, with all ratings between essential or important. The first theme, 'The organism has regulatory mechanisms to maintain a relatively stable internal environment, a process known as homeostasis' was almost unanimously rated as essential. Difficulty ratings for unpacked concept themes averaged between slightly difficult and moderately difficult. The Australian team concurred with published literature that there are inconsistencies in the way the critical components of homeostatic systems are represented and interpreted. We aimed to simplify the components of the concept so that undergraduates would be able to easily identify the language used and build on their knowledge.