I want my students to fail. Of course I don't want them to fail the course, but I do want to give them a lot of opportunities to get things wrong as they learn new facts, apply new knowledge, and build their conceptual frameworks.

Learning scientists have plenty of research that shows that failing to get things right at first, then correcting one's thinking by relearning forgotten facts and applying knowledge in better ways, strengthens mastery. And it reinforces long-term memory of facts—and long-term memory of how to solve problems.

So I give my A&P students a lot of opportunities to fail. So that they can stop failing and be more consistent in succeeding.

One way I do that is by using clickers—a student response system—during lectures, labs, and discussion. I do assign "participation points" for answering questions using this system in class, but I do not assign points based on whether the answers were correct or incorrect. I want them take risks—to fail sometimes.

By failing to get something right on a "clicker question," they wake up to where their deficiencies in learning are. Then we work together to correct their knowledge. It's more likely that when they encounter a similar challenge later on in my course, they'll be in a better position to succeed.

I also give my students a lot of opportunity to fail in taking online tests. In my courses, I give a lot of online tests that act primarily as formative assessments. That is tests that help them gain knowledge at the beginning of their learning and tell them how they are doing—not tests that primarily evaluate if they've succeeded at the end of their learning process (summative testing). Most of my summative testing is instead done in written exams.

My frequent online tests do have grade points associated with them, but because multiple attempts are allowed, they have a built-in formative component. Because the questions are randomly drawn from question sets containing many items, each test attempt has different items—but is testing the same set of learning objectives. Students fail, then fail again, then succeed in such tests.

Because those online tests are cumulative—testing over all prior concepts—they get continuous practice in retrieving and applying concepts. And ongoing opportunities to fail—then succeed. By the time we get to their midterm and final exams, they are ready to succeed.

But wait! There's more.

I also require my student to take pretests before they begin their online testing. The pretests come before any learning activity in a new unit. Thus, they have an initial opportunity to fail—and fail miserably—by taking a test on a new set of topics that they may have never seen before. Learning research—and my own experience—shows that such pretests really prime student learning. Maybe a miserable failure at the start gets our brains into a mode that helps us really figure out how to avoid such failure again!

I realize that it may seem counterintuitive for either teachers or learners to embrace failure as desirable. But considering how we really learn—by falling, then getting up and trying again—it makes a lot of sense. And the science of learning backs up this approach.

What can we use from this in teaching undergraduate A&P?

• Consider adding opportunities for students to fail early in their learning by using low-stakes or zero-stakes tests and quizzes.


• Consider using clickers or mobile-based student response systems to embed questions in lectures, labs, group activities, and discussions.


• Consider embedding quiz items in your pre-class "flipped" course materials.


• Encourage students to test each other outside of class to give additional opportunities for failure. Flash cards, concept maps, and similar study activities also provide failure opportunities that enhance learning.

Want to know more?

Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning

• James M. Lang, John Wiley & Sons, Feb 16, 2016 
• Book that summarizes many different ideas about how to apply learning science to your courses, it gives practical advice and a lot of examples of how to do "small" things in your course to promote the kinds of failure that promote learning.
• my-ap.us/2l1lfEr

Next time you head over to the companion website for this blog at theAPprofessor.org, you'll see a whole new website. Literally. The old website is enjoying a well-deserved rest on the beach of a sea of electrons, and a whole new—completely rebuilt—website has taken its place.

Like rookie professors who replace veteran A&P professors, it still has a lot to learn. So I'm actively seeking your input on the kinds of things you'd like me to add or subtract from the website. Either comment on this blog post, or use the CONTACT form on the website.

This new version of The A&P Professor retains a few of the design elements of the old one, like the Hip Logo. However, the website design is now "responsive" to allow resizing and rearrangement of page elements for easy viewing on any device—from desktop to pad to phone.

I did a lot of pruning during the rebuild of The A&P Professor . I removed dated topics and book reviews, and the curated lists of websites and images. The latter just got out of hand for one guy with several "real" jobs, plus tending to a bunch of websites and blogs and a daily newsletter. When I started curating those collections, it was hard to find what we needed to teach A&P successfully—but now it's now much easier to find what you want on your own.

The new website is now closely linked to another of my websites, the Lion Den. The Lion Den has also recently been rebuilt to focus entirely on the teaching and learning of human anatomy and physiology.

So check out the Lion Den offerings as you explore the new The A&P Professor website! As always, I continue to appreciate your support!

This trend in misleading "click bait" headlines among science news outlets continues to spiral into infinity. Okay, "infinity" is an exaggeration, but apparently that's what it takes these days to get us reading the actual content of science articles. And a growing phenomenon is that the articles themselves include exaggerations within their content. That's the topic of my rant, er, post today.

I've been thinking about this for a long while. I often discuss it in class with my students. Yesterday, I ran across a recent (January 2017) example of the perennial "scientists discover that the appendix has a function" headline: Your Appendix Might Serve an Important Biological Function After All 

That example actually has a pretty good article about a study analyzing the evolutionary appearances and reappearances of the appendix in mammals and what that may tell us about this organ's function. But we already know enough about the functions of the vermiform appendix in humans that it's hardly true that its functions are completely unknown. The article clearly acknowledges that fact within the content, despite that attention-grabbing headline.

Megakaryocyte producing platelets

Another recent example was the round of excited shares on social media regarding the "discovery" that hematopoiesis (blood development) occurs in lung tissue. There were a lot of "wow, who knew?" tweets that week. Even from highly trained experts in A&P. But my Anatomy & Physiology textbook (p. 624) already has this information—and it surely cannot be the only textbook to do so.

The journal article that prompted this wave of tweets and posts described some research in mice that expands our knowledge about this phenomenon—turns out that more is going in the lungs than we thought. The lungs may be the primary site for thrombopoiesis (platelet development), if human lungs work like mice lungs. But the fact that the lungs are sites of hematopoiesis—specifically platelet formation—is not new.

I've shared these and other posts with exaggerated headlines myself—mostly on Twitter, Facebook, or my new daily newsletter from Nuzzel.

However, I think it's way to easy to succumb to the excitement of a potential "new discovery" that turns out to be not new, or even a discovery, at all. As a blogger I know full well that exaggerated headlines get more "engagement", which leads to more "followers," which leads to better "brand recognition" and thus, more future "engagement." Who wants to spend time researching and writing when nobody is reading?

But in science, maybe the public perception of how science works is better served by a more toned-down approach that recognizes what we already think we know, why we think we know it, and what any new studies can do to clarify, correct, or extend what we know.

I know that none of us individuals can stop the tide of exaggerated science news headlines. I'm just using a platform I have to express my concern that we may be making a mistake by doing so. If everything is a "breakthrough" or even a "huge breakthrough," then maybe casual observers will miss those truly game-changing ideas when they come along.

At least is something to keep in the back our minds and we do our daily scan of science new headlines.

What can we use from this in teaching undergraduate A&P?

• Consider challenging your student to find the first new "science discovers the function of the appendix" article or post of the semester. (or spleen or gallbladder or any organ).


• Find some posts or articles that have exciting "new discovery" headlines and analyze them as a class. The may help us all learn better the critical analysis needed when reading science content.


• Have a class discussion regarding the balance between the excitement of discovery that drives science and the exaggerations of discovery that may mislead.


• Consider making sure that your students know that the appendix has functions (and that the lungs make platelets). Just in case they become science journalists.


• Consider throwing out science journalism or science writing as career options. They already have an interest in human biology—and they may soon discover they don't like the career path they first chose, after all.

Want to know more?

Your Appendix Might Serve an Important Biological Function After All

• BEC CREW Science Alert 10 JAN 2017
• Article about an evolution study of the appendix in many organisms and how that may relate to the organ's function.
• my-ap.us/2pDQofu

An Unexpected New Lung Function Has Been Found - They Make Blood

• This article, with the subtitle Things just got complicated, outlines the recent work done in mice to show that most platelets (not just some platelets) may form in lungs. 
• BEC CREW Science Alert 24 MAR 2017
• my-ap.us/2p5JUdl

So why, exactly, is it that we should consume a lot of fiber in our diet to remain healthy? Are refined fiber supplements just as good as, say, an "apple a day?"

Recently, an article in the journal Cell answer seems to verify some of the answers for us.

As the paper cited below indicates, research seems to confirm that dietary fiber provides nutrients for the inhabitants of our intestinal microbiome.  When dietary fiber is missing, then the microbes undergo a shift in populations and start consuming our GI mucus as an alternate source of nutrition.  That, as you might guess, reduces the thickness of the protective mucus—hus increasing the likelihood that pathogens can more easily attack the intestinal lining. Ouch.

Apparently, refined prebiotic fibers don't fix the problem.

Here are some highlights of the research article (quoted from their online preview):

• Characterized synthetic bacterial communities enable functional insights in vivo
• Low-fiber diet promotes expansion and activity of colonic mucus-degrading bacteria
• Purified prebiotic fibers do not alleviate degradation of the mucus layer
• Fiber-deprived gut microbiota promotes aggressive colitis by an enteric pathogen

What can we use from this in teaching undergraduate A&P?

• When asked by students about dietary fiber, you have more information from which to draw an answer.
• When discussing any of these topics, you'll now have a bit more to add to your story:
• nutrition
• function of mucus
• the human microbial system (or specifically, the GI microbiome)
• how pathogens cause disease (or specifically, GI disorders)

Want to know more?

Veggies and Intact Grains a Day Keep the Pathogens Away

• Francesca S. Gazzaniga. Dennis L. Kasper. Cell. Available online 17 November 2016
• Brief preview of the M. Desai article cited below.
• my-ap.us/2lijkbE

A Dietary Fiber-Deprived Gut Microbiota Degrades the Colonic Mucus Barrier and Enhances Pathogen Susceptibility

• Mahesh S. Desai et al. Cell, Volume 167, Issue 5, 17 November 2016, Pages 1339-1353.e21
• The detailed research article.
• my-ap.us/2lijz6w

Microbiome articles

• Kevin Patton. The A&P Professor. Various dates.
• Collection of previous posts on this topic from this blog.
• my-ap.us/2liCrSP

I always thought of pre-testing as something you do before working on a unit of content, later followed up with a post-test. Comparing pre-test results with post-test results can then be used as part of the course assessment to find out what, if any, learning has happened. But that's no longer my first thought when I hear the term "pre-test."

Want to know more?

• Checkmarks Make Me Happy
• Sacral Efferent Pathways are Sympathetic, Not Parasympathetic
• Checking Our Attitudes About A&P Students "These Days"
• Sex-Gender Differences in Medical Research
• Autophagy Discovery Garners Nobel Prize
• Cumulative Testing Enhances Learning
• Student Success Increases When They Debrief After Tests
• What About That Negative Blood?
• Where did Zika virus come from and why is it a problem in Brazil?
• Engaging Students on the First Day of Class