This paper describes a renal physiology review activity that can be completed during one class session. The activity is a tactile simulation in which colored beads represent various components of the blood, glomerular filtrate, tubular fluid, and interstitial fluid. Students simulate major functions of the nephron by moving beads between…

This paper describes a short ion flow activity that can be completed within one lab or lecture session. The activity is focused on the core concept of flow-down gradients and is geared toward undergraduates. No previous knowledge of equilibrium potentials or membrane potentials is required. Students are guided through a set of questions that build…

One-minute papers allow students to process what they learned during class and improve student performance. However, this activity can become monotonous and takes significantly longer than the name implies. The research described here tests the effectiveness of a briefer, more flexible version of this technique to increase the perceived relevance…

This article presents several activities suitable for a transition to proofs course. In addition, this article surveys literature in support of active learning in the transition to proofs course and discusses how these activities have been successfully implemented in one such course.

Acid-base physiology is widely recognized as one of the most conceptually challenging topics in undergraduate education due to its interdisciplinary nature and the necessity for both mechanistic and integrative understanding. This article presents a structured, system-based teaching framework designed to enhance student comprehension of acid-base…

Many students struggle to understand the sometimes counterintuitive and complicated organization of the retina. As soon as they begin to grasp these complex relationships, we add another confusing concept: the organization of receptive fields of individual ganglion cells. Publishers provide figures in textbooks and videos, but like many topics in…

A simple hands-on model for illustrating the concept of isotope dilution analysis (IDA) has been devised. The model consists of two sets of beads of different sizes, with one set representing atoms of the analyte and the other set representing solvent water molecules. Phase separation is mimicked by sieving the beads, and the results are detected…

We present a classroom exercise developed to teach the tools of determining order quantities and reorder points for inventory management. This exercise presents the students with an inventory management scenario but only provides a portion of the data that are required to set order quantities and reorder points. The activity is a type of…

Cybersecurity education is becoming increasingly important in modern society, and hands-on practice is an essential element. Although instructors provide hands-on labs in their cybersecurity courses, traditional lab exercises often fail to effectively motivate students. Hence, many instructors desire to incorporate gamification in hands-on…

This paper shares a flexible activity for engaging people in mathematical inquiry that does not depend on fixed prior knowledge built on a famous property of Möbius strips. The discussion includes the implementation of the activity and its extensions, facilitator moves and common participant thinking, suggestions for adaptation and integration…

In recent years, 'the field of higher education ha[s] become increasingly interested in assessing traditional instruction practices (e.g., lectures) and modifying them towards more student-centred and active instructional approaches' (Kozanitis and Nenciovici 2023: 1377). Innovations in practice, such as talking pairs, are being embraced by…

Decision-making is a critical topic in any management and organizational behavior course. Navigating and understanding the various processes and influences on decision-making, however, can be complicated. This article revises and expands on a common "employee ranking" format activity. It uses in-class student data to systematically…

The study examines the impact of lens exploration and navigation stations (LENS) activity on students' academic performance in bio-inspired optics, focusing on the gain score, to provide empirical evidence on its effectiveness in fostering deeper comprehension and engagement. The design of the study is quantitative research and uses a…

Online open-ended and closed-ended surveys were conducted in 2014-2016 among 191 students at a small, private university located in South Florida. Our main goals were to evaluate student perceptions of in-class and out-of-class assignments in hybrid courses, determine what students value most about these modes of learning, and recommend ways to…

Essential to a flourishing society in a changing environment, knowledge creation has become pervasive across social sectors. Creative work with knowledge and ideas requires dynamic forms of collaboration in which individuals adapt goals as new advances and problems emerge. To prepare students for creative knowledge work, new classroom designs…