Flipping the Endocrine System: Enhancing Student Learning Outcomes in Blood Glucose Control

Students studying first year anatomy and physiology are required to understand the homeostatic control of the human body which is well illustrated by blood glucose control. Traditionally, students have measured blood glucose homeostasis in fasted subjects in response to a drink of Glucaid© during endocrine practical classes. This has been problematic in that students have not always been willing volunteers to fast and have their blood sampled, and, ethics approval has been required for the practical session to proceed. As a result, a shift in pedagogy was implemented for students to participate in active learning in laboratories by reviewing case-based scenarios related to glucose homeostasis, identifying normal and abnormal responses. This involves a knowledge of the glucose tolerance test which was presented online using a short recorded lecture, a relevant website, a conceptual quiz and an online memory game to enable students to self-test their knowledge of blood glucose control concepts prior to practical sessions. In 2015, 53% of students accessed the online module prior to attending the face-to-face practical session. Implementation of this flipped design resulted in tutors observing active engagement in practical classes with respect to the case based scenarios and a 4.8% improvement in summative assessment performance, related to the face to face class, was observed in the 2015 student cohort. Students indicated that the online module, particularly the self-tests, assisted their understanding of the topic. Flipping this aspect of the endocrine system effectively enabled students to apply foundation knowledge of blood glucose control. Importantly, student learning outcomes related to blood glucose homeostasis were improved by adopting this flipped pedagogy.