Comparison of the use of role-play in both large and small classes to teach the basic concepts of an immune response to undergraduate students (41.3)

Abstract

Abstract Active learning exercises are touted as superior teaching strategies, yet little work has been done to truly evaluate their effectiveness in the science classroom. Role-play is considered an especially strong tool to model concepts and show relationships between entities. The immune response is a particularly difficult topic for students to grasp, due to the myriad of cellular and protein interactions involved. This study looks at the use of role-play as a tool to teach the immune response to undergraduates in both small classes, where all students participate, and large classes where only a subset of students act for their peers. Learning was measured using a standard pre- and post-test format of multiple choice questions, and student perceptions of learning were collected using an anonymous written survey. No significant differences were found in overall learning based upon class size. Role-play participation did not have a significant impact on learning compared to students who did not participate in large classes. No significant differences were seen in learning based upon student learning styles. A full analysis of the efficacy of role-play as a replacement for or an addition to lecture will be presented. This research gives insight into the efficacy of role-play as a learning tool for teaching basic concepts in immunology.