An Undergraduate Teaching Course: Students Learning Physiology through Teaching
Authors: Anderson Lisa C 
Published: November 2023

Peer to peer learning is a way to incorporate small group learning into large classes, especially when graduate level teaching assistants and teaching faculty are not available in sufficient numbers to facilitate such groups. Using undergraduate teaching assistants is an innovative way to provide small group leaning opportunities in a large system based human physiology course in which the course enrollment ranges from 290 to 360 students. We describe the development and implementation of a course to prepare undergraduates to be teaching assistants.

Undergraduate teaching assistants (UTA) are chosen from a pool of interested students who themselves have completed and excelled in this same human physiology course. Eligible students are invited to submit a letter of application addressing specific criteria. Letters are assessed with a defined rubric and high ranking applicants are interviewed. From the interviewed applicants, a team of 6 to 8 UTAs are chosen to staff a lab of 100–120 students based on the quality of the interview and the applicant's availability for a given lab. Three labs are staffed with three different teams. An attempt is made to achieve gender and ethnic diversity among the teams, wherever possible.

First time UTAs register for a two credit course called Advanced Teaching Laboratory. UTA students meet weekly to discuss the important physiologic concepts for the upcoming laboratory session. UTA students engage in critical thinking exercises, role playing, and question writing exercises. UTA student are encouraged to approach their physiology students with the Socratic Method, using probing questions to help guide the physiology students, as opposed to simply providing answers. UTA performing satisfactorily in the class are invited to teach in subsequent semesters as a paid UTA; paid UTA continue to attend the weekly teaching class so that they continue to hone their teaching skills. UTAs staff one weekly lab performing duties such as helping groups of 15–20 students perform hands on activities such as pulmonary spirometry, electrocardiography and sensory assessment. UTA also lead small group discussion of critical thinking exercises prepared by the course instructors. Additional duties include proctoring exams, grading quizzes and homework assignments and entering grades into a google doc grade book.

The use of UTAs has furthered the teaching mission of our department in three ways. First we are able to provide a small group learning environment that supplements a large lecture course. Students taking physiology report that UTAs are knowledgeable and approachable and often compliment individual UTAs by name in their written evaluation comments. Second, we are able to help UTAs solidify their own physiological knowledge. UTAs taking Advanced Teaching Laboratory go on to professional and graduate school: these former UTAs report being well prepared for their advanced physiology instruction in professional and graduate school. Third, the teaching faculty receive a unique feedback from UTAs that enable the faculty to improve the active learning environment of the laboratory setting. This undergraduate course for teaching assistants is an innovative way to develop future teachers, future teaching that could occur in either an academic or clinical setting.