USING ROUND TABLE LABS TO COMPLEMENT DIDACTIC
LECTURES AND EXPERIMENTAL LABS. Nancy P. Nekvasil.
Department of
Biology, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN 46556.
APStracts 5:0005S, 1998.
ABSTRACT
In an effort to teach the volume of material needed by physiology students
as well as to enhance the studentÕs understanding of physiological
mechanisms, a combination of teaching methods is being used at the undergraduate
level. Didactic lectures are used to convey the mass of information needed,
experimental labs are used to aid the student in visualizing concepts,
and situational labs (called Round Table Labs or RTLs here) are used to
provide for the student an opportunity to learn, in a risk-free setting,
how to answer application questions. The RTLs utilize discussion, writing,
verbal communication, and analytical thinking. The major emphasis of the
RTLs is on the integrative nature of physiology. Use of the RTLs bridges
the gap among the facts learned in the didactic lecture, the hands-on learning
of the experimental lab, and the need to be able to apply what is being
learned. Using this combination facilitates student learning such that
the student reaches a level of proficiency with the subject beyond that
which can be attained with the more traditional lecture-exam format.
Received 11 September 1997; accepted in final form 26 February 1998.
APS Manuscript Number S36-7.
Article publication pending Advances in Physiology Education.
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1998 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 9 March 1998