Establishing consensus for the core concepts of physiology in the Australian higher education context using the Delphi method

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Tangalakis, Kathy
Lexis, Louise
Hryciw, Deanne H
Towstoless, Michelle
Bakker, Anthony J
Beckett, Elizabeth
Brown, Daniel
Cameron, Melissa
Choate, Julia
Chopin, Lisa
Cooke, Matthew B
Douglas, Tracy
Estaphan, Suzanne
Etherington, Sarah
Gaganis, Voula
et al.
Griffith University Author(s)
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2023
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Abstract

A set of core concepts (“big ideas”) integral to the discipline of physiology are important for students to understand and demonstrate their capacity to apply. We found poor alignment of learning outcomes in programs with physiology majors (or equivalent) from 17 Australian universities and the 15 core concepts developed by a team in the United States. The objective of this project was to reach Australia-wide consensus on a set of core concepts for physiology, which can be embedded in curricula across Australian universities. A four-phase Delphi method was employed, starting with the assembling of a Task Force of physiology educators with extensive teaching and curriculum development expertise from 25 Australian universities. After two online meetings and a survey, the Task Force reached agreement on seven core concepts of physiology and their descriptors, which were then sent out to the physiology educator community across Australia for agreement. The seven core concepts and their associated descriptions were endorsed through this process (n = 138). In addition, embedding the core concepts across the curriculum was supported by both Task Force members (85.7%) and educators (82.1%). The seven adopted core concepts of human physiology were Cell Membrane, Cell-Cell Communication, Movement of Substances, Structure and Function, Homeostasis, Integration, and Physiological Adaptation. The core concepts were subsequently unpacked into themes and subthemes. If adopted, these core concepts will result in consistency across curricula in undergraduate physiology programs and allow for future benchmarking. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first time Australia-wide agreement has been reached on the core concepts of physiology with the Delphi method. Embedding of the core concepts will result in consistency in physiology curricula, improvements to teaching and learning, and benchmarking across Australian universities.

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Advances in Physiology Education

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47

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3

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© 2023 American Physiological Society. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal website for access to the definitive, published version.

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Curriculum and pedagogy

Social Sciences

Science & Technology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Education, Scientific Disciplines

Physiology

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Tangalakis, K; Lexis, L; Hryciw, DH; Towstoless, M; Bakker, AJ; Beckett, E; Brown, D; Cameron, M; Choate, J; Chopin, L; Cooke, MB; Douglas, T; Estaphan, S; Etherington, S; Gaganis, V; et al., Establishing consensus for the core concepts of physiology in the Australian higher education context using the Delphi method, Advances in Physiology Education, 2023, 47 (3), pp. 419-426

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