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These posts make me think of one of my
favorite Far Side cartoons where
there is a farmer and a car full of people at a road sign that reads “Point
B” with many potential paths to another sign that reads “Point A”
and the caption of the farmer’s comment “Well, lemme think …
You’ve stumped me, son. Most folks only wanna know how to go the
other way.” I think the question regarding when to teach the
nervous and endocrine systems is not is there data to show that changing the
order is better (or not) but how does the order of presentation relate to the goals
and objectives of the course. In have found in my general physiology
course that it was an evaluation of my course goals and objectives the led to
changes in the order that topic areas, not just the nervous and endocrine
systems, were covered that have subsequently resulted in better performance by
students in the course. Colleen J. Nolan, Ph.D. Professor and Chair Department of Biological Sciences St. Mary's University One Camino Telephone: (210) 436-3241 Fax: (210) 431-4363 From:
HAPS-L-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:HAPS-L-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Evans For whatever it is
worth, students consistently do more poorly on the endocrine test than any of
the others, including the nervous system. From:
HAPS-L-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:HAPS-L-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Lapres, Jason H Thank you Ken and well put. Our situation is that we have some people
that would like to try switching the sequence to spend a little more time on
the nervous and endocrine systems earlier in the semester. One of the
major factors is a “gut feeling” that this will better prepare our
students in these two vital areas because the students are
“fresher” earlier in the semester. The counter to this is that a few
don’t want to even give it a try because they don’t think it will
work. Therefore, they want some evidence. I don’t know about
you, but I’ve tried a lot of things in my life/career that I didn’t
think would work, or that I would like (several foods come to mind). So the real issue becomes, will trying a
change in the sequence of chapters/topics in API hurt anyone, especially
students. I think not. Jason LaPres Associate Professor of Biology Human Anatomy and Physiology 2700 WW Thorne Winship 210E 281-618-7132 From:
HAPS-L-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:HAPS-L-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ken Saladin At 02:31 PM 7/5/2007, you
wrote: Does anyone have any actual
statistics showing that teaching the nervous and endocrine systems
early in API (before muscles and bones) helps students do better and APII, and
subsequently, in future health care programs?
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