Immunology Course Research Articles

A modular activity to support knowledge retention, application, and metacognition in undergraduate immunology.

Learning in undergraduate immunology requires students to be able to retain knowledge, to apply information to new contexts, and to self-assess their understanding of concepts. These core competencies strengthen students' critical thinking and metacognitive skills which, in turn, enhances their ability to identify knowledge gaps and strategies to support future learning. Retrieval practice and feedback-driven metacognition are evidence-based teaching strategies that have been demonstrated to enhance knowledge retention and metacognition in a range of academic disciplines and levels of education, although their implementation and impact on learning in undergraduate immunology remain largely unexplored. To this end, I designed a modular "practice session" activity for a 12-week, upper-level, undergraduate immunology course that incorporates periodic retrieval practice and feedback-driven metacognition to support students' knowledge retention, application of information, and metacognitive skills. Near the end of the course, a survey was conducted to assess student perceptions on whether the activity supported learning and metacognition in immunology. Instructional resources are provided to facilitate easy adaptation of this modular activity to courses of diverse science disciplines and levels of study in higher education.

When language becomes an obstacle: the challenges of teaching immunology in french for moroccan students

The teaching of sciences, and more specifically immunology, in a foreign language presents numerous challenges, particularly in terms of understanding and assimilating knowledge. In this context, teaching sciences in the native language would be more conducive to learning, as students have been familiarized with these linguistic structures from a young age. Nevertheless, since 2014, Morocco has decided to teach scientific subjects (mathematics, physics, and life and earth sciences) in French starting from middle school to help students in scientific fields, initially educated in Arabic, to better pursue their higher education in French. This approach creates a double barrier for students whose mother tongue is Amazigh or Arabic, they must both master complex scientific concepts and express them in a foreign language. This article aims to examine these challenges through two studies targeting a sample of 185 (n1+n2+n3) teachers, one quantitative based on a questionnaire, and the other qualitative using the focus group technique. Both studies focus on the opinions of life and earth sciences teachers regarding the teaching of immunology in French the high school, a discipline with particularly complex concepts, and whether teaching scientific subjects in French is hindered by difficulties, and finally to propose possible alternatives to improve the effectiveness of this teaching. The results obtained show a negative appreciation from the teachers in our sample regarding the teaching of immunology in French, as it poses problems for students' understanding of this discipline. In fact, the results suggest that the majority of students lack interest and motivation in immunology courses taught in French, with low engagement in classroom discussions.

Engaging Undergraduate Students in Course-based Research Improved Student Learning of Course Material.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) offer students opportunities to engage in critical thinking and problem solving. However, quantitating the impact of incorporating research into undergraduate courses on student learning and performance has been difficult since most CUREs lack a comparable traditional course as a control. To determine how course-based research impacts student performance, we compared summative assessments of the traditional format for our upper division immunology course (2013-2016), in which students studied known immune development and responses, to the CURE format (2017-2019), in which students studied the effects of genetic mutations on immune development and responses. Because the overall class structure remained unaltered, we were able to quantitate the impact of incorporating research on student performance. Students in the CURE format class performed significantly better on quizzes, exams, and reports. There were no significant differences in academic levels, degree programs, or grade point averages, suggesting improved performance was due to increased engagement of students in research.

Improving undergraduate education in immunology through assessment of interdisciplinary scientific knowledge.

The interdisciplinary nature of immunology can make studying not only engaging but also challenging, as understanding immunologic processes and immune system components requires foundational knowledge from severalscience disciplines. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has aunique, 4-year, Undergraduate Immunology Program (UIP) that provides a comprehensive curriculum in immunology that includes five core courses starting in the second year, at which point, students are in the process of completing basic science sequences. For this study, students in courses across the UIP curriculum were asked to identify basic science topics that relate to four immunology concepts. In addition, students were surveyed on their confidence in understanding each of the basic science topics and were asked to identify the course in which they felt that they had fully learned the topic. Data from this study did not demonstrate a change in students' interdisciplinary science competency from the second to fourth year. Importantly, students reported that they fully understood 11 out of 12 basic science concepts in courses offered in their first and second years, with confidence in basic science topics significantly improving from the second to third year. The lack of demonstrated improvement in interdisciplinary understanding across the curriculum may be attributed to the fact that students are able to integrate basic science topics with foundational immunologic concepts as early as their second year. Importantly, these findings suggest that the integration or review of basic science topics in an immunology course may improve students' comprehension of foundational immunology concepts and interdisciplinary science competency.

Engaging students through activity-based bingo games in immunology course: Determining students' perception and measuring its influence on academic performance.

This study aims to evaluate how well bingo game-based activities serve as instructional tools to enhance student learning. This prospective cross-sectional study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. The study sample size was 145 MD3 year college of medicine students for the academic year 2023-2024. The evaluation instruments included the participants' exam grades, pre-test scores, post-test scores, and feedback. The study employed a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative research methods to investigate how students perceived and interacted with the bingo game-based activity. The data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. The association between exam and post-test scores was examined using the correlation coefficient and a straightforward regression analysis. The P value of less than 0.05 was deemed significant. The study comprised 145 students in total who completed all the tasks. The post-test scores (10.62 ± 1.73) showed a statistically significant improvement (P < 0.01) over the pre-test scores (6.3 ± 1.99). Most students (85-90%) thought that activities centered around bingo games were great tools for learning. Nine out of ten students said the game-based activity was engaging and enjoyable, that it inspired them to engage in group discussions, that it assisted them in identifying and concentrating on important topics, and that it improved their knowledge and helped them get ready for the final exam. Almost all the participants (>90%) suggested adding this exercise to the list of future topics. Overall, exam scores achieved by students for topics covered in the bingo-based activity (92.7 ± 4.96) were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than exam scores for topics not covered in the activity (83.75 ± 7.74). Bingo game is an effective learning strategy to promote students' learning in the immunology course. Furthermore, utilizing bingo games as a formative assessment technique can significantly improve students' learning and help them achieve higher scores on summative assessments.

Design and evaluation of an immunology and pathology course that is tailored to today's dentistry students.

Curricular reform provides new opportunities to renovate important pillars of the dentistry curriculum, such as immunology and pathology, with novel approaches that appeal to new generations of students. When redesigning a course that integrates both immunology and pathology at the level that provides dentistry students with sustainable knowledge that is useful for their entire career, several challenges must be met. The objective of the present study was to describe the considerations involved in the design phase of such a new course. First, the course should be compatible with the new view on the incorporation of more active learning and teaching methods. Practically, this means that the course design should contain fewer lectures and more seminars and tutorials, where the students have fewer contact hours and actively engage in using recently acquired knowledge within a contextual background. A mandatory session of team-based learning provides opportunities to apply knowledge in combination with academic reasoning skills, teamwork, and communication. Second, for a 4-week course, choices must be made: students will not become immunologists nor pathologists in such a short period. A governing principle for this course's design is that it should be based on understanding the basic principles of immunology and pathology. The ultimate goal for the students is to make the course immuno-logical and patho-logical, challenging them to reach a next level but clearly without oversimplification. Part of the course design should allow room for students to further study an immunological topic of their own choice, thereby contributing to their immunological curiosity and to their academic development. Third, to make it tailored to a new generation of dentists, examples from the field of dentistry are actively integrated in all aspects of the course. Finally, the era of ChatGPT provides novel opportunities to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the learning process, but it demands critical thinking of how to use it in a newly designed course. A mid-course evaluation revealed that students acknowledged that immunology and pathology were presented as an integrated course. The final course evaluation endorsed the use of these various educational methods. These methods proved to be appropriate and logical choices for reaching the learning goals of the course.

A comparison of students' preferences for face-to-face and online laboratory sessions: insights from students' perception of their learning experiences in an immunology course.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has prompted educators in universities to reconsider their teaching methods, mainly due to the social distancing measures imposed within the classroom settings. On the other hand, the growing importance of continuing education opportunities for adult learners after graduation has seen the need to transform traditional teaching modes that primarily depend on face-to-face interaction into virtual modes, which are deemed more time- and cost-efficient. These major shifts in social and economic developments have a significant impact on the evolution of curriculum planning in higher education. Education that has scientific inquiry components inevitably comes into question, as conventional beliefs that experiments should be hands-on and will not be as effective if conducted virtually cast doubts on the move to the online space. This paper discusses the background of an impending shift in a university's approach to more online-based laboratory classes in an immunology course, as well as the exploration of the potential of conducting online laboratory experiments based on student perceptions.

Teaching Immunotherapy at College of Pharmacy-Therapy-based Learning

Abstract Different types of immunotherapies employed as chemotherapy work in different ways. Some immunotherapy treatments help the immune system stop or slow the growth of cancer cells. Immunology course for Pharmacy year 2 students is taught at College of Pharmacy Chicago State University. The perquisites for the course were Medical Physiology, Biochemistry and Pathophysiology. The students had no prior knowledge of basic immunology. The way the course was designed was that they learn about the current available immunotherapy and then were taken back to the basic concepts of immunology to make sense of that module. We divided Pharmacy Immunology course into five modules, i.e., 1) Monoclonal antibodies and immune checkpoint inhibitors, 2) Non-specific immunotherapies, 3) Oncolytic virus therapy, 4) T-cell therapy, 5) Cancer vaccines. Although the students were taught immunotherapies in two-hour long workshops as discussion in teams, they were also tested for their conceptual knowledge of basic immunology. The assessment results consistently showed a higher level of learning according to Bloom’s taxonomy. The exams were designed to test critical thinking and application and synthesis of knowledge of the students. The assessment data suggested that student performance was significantly improved as compared to previous years of Pharmacy year 2 students who were taught similar content without using this teaching methodology.

Integrating biomedical sciences (Physiology, Biochemistry, and Cell biology) into pharmaceutical sciences curriculum

Abstract Like other healthcare and medical professional curricula, pharmacy is also struggling to incorporate basic medical sciences into pharmaceutical sciences. Enrollment issues complexed with disappearing admission test like (PCAT) have challenged the instructors to make sure that the first- and second-year pharmacy students are thoroughly prepared with foundational science backgrounds before they start learning clinical and experiential subjects. At the College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy Chicago State University, we prepared and tested ourselves for the same challenge. Immunology taught as a core subject in Pharmacy year-2 was one of the subjects chosen for addressing this issue. Immunology is a rapidly developing biomedical science that delves into the wondrous complexities of the immune system; an extraordinary defense mechanism system evolved to safeguard organisms from diverse threats. At the core of immunology, it overlaps basic cell biology and has an intricate network of cells, tissues, and molecules that need to be introduced to pharmacy students when teaching about the basics of the subject. Retrospective data was analyzed where Immunology was bundled with a 4-credit Microbiology courseas compared to a 2-credit Immunology course which was shifted to Pharmacy year 2. The data suggested that student’sperformance was enhanced when Immunology was offered as a standalone course in Pharmacy Year-2.

Improving Students’ Knowledge and Engagement in Immunology Course Using Video-Based Learning and Concept Mapping in Modified E-tivities

E-tivities were implemented in the online class of Immunology at the Department of Pharmacy UII using video-based learning (VBL) and concept mapping exercises to enhance student motivation and knowledge. The class measurement method was used by comparing the previous academic year's lecture evaluation and outcomes (the 2021 semester without video and concept mapping) and the 2022 semester (with E-tivities using VBL and concept mapping). According to the evaluation results, the combination of learning methods with learning video and concept mapping increased the student's interest and enthusiasm for learning. Furthermore, the student's mastery of the material increased from 8% to 41%, resulting in an increase in the student's final grade. The combination of video-based learning and concept mapping increased student motivation and knowledge

Using simulations to meld didactic and constructivist teaching methods in complex second year STEM courses

ABSTRACT This paper explores the effective development and use of interactive simulations as a learning tool, integrating didactic and active approaches with complex laboratory and lecture content in undergraduate biochemistry and immunology courses. University science courses require students to master vast quantities of foundational knowledge that is commonly taught using didactic approaches. Over time, students are required to become more active and teaching approaches become more student-centred, extending students’ application of knowledge, critical thinking, and creativity which relies on a student’s ability to recall knowledge. Identifying the right timing and means for shifting from didactic approaches toward an active approach is critical for maintaining student interest and extending their learning. Active learning can transform the perception of a given subject, phenomenon, or experience, allowing students to engage meaningfully and deeply with critical and complex ideas. This paper demonstrates how active approaches to learning through simulations have been effectively used to reinforce threshold concepts in laboratory and lecture settings and the impact on student learning is discussed.

Fostering student agency and motivation: co-creation of a rubric for self-evaluation in an ungraded course

No one enjoys grading, neither instructors nor students. The idea is that grades provide the required incentive to learn and act as an “objective” form of evaluation. This view is especially prevalent in STEM, where practitioners pride themselves in quantitative and objective measurements. However, the science of learning tells us that grades and ranking increase competition and stress, pushing learners to engage in tasks regardless of their effectiveness. Grades have been shown to suppress interest in learning, incentivize engagement in easier tasks, and produce shallower thinking. If wanting to learn is something students and faculty can agree on, how do we get there without grading? From psychology research, we know that feedback, separated from grades, along with opportunities to reattempt work without negative consequence, are powerful drivers of the intrinsic motivation to learn. In fact, feedback loops—trying something new, getting feedback, and making changes based on feedback - are a known developmental pathway to authentic learning. In this article, I describe an experiment with a form of ungrading that involves students in the co-creation of self-assessment criteria. The goal is to create learning feedback loops, incentivize learning for learning’s sake, and give students some agency in the process of evaluation. This was conducted in an upper division Immunology course at a small liberal arts college. This paper outlines an iterative and dialogical process between students and instructional staff to craft a holistic set of criteria for the evaluation of learning. These criteria became the foundation for regular one-on-one conversations with students and a means to track progress over the semester. End-of-semester student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, citing increased motivation to learn, lower levels of anxiety, a less competitive environment, and growth as a learner. Among the few disadvantages cited were anxieties from grade ambiguity, fears about the process, and extra time, especially for the instructor. This paper highlights the ways in which this system aligns with psychosocial theories of learning, fostering an intrinsic motivation to learn utilizing principles of critical pedagogy and students as partners. It concludes with lessons learned from both the student and instructor viewpoint.

Survey of attitudes toward performing and reflecting on required team service-learning (SASL): psychometric data and reliability/validity for healthcare professions students in preclinical courses

PurposePreviously we assessed healthcare professional students’ feelings about team-based learning, implicit bias, and service to the community using an in-house paper survey. In this study, we determined whether this survey is a reliable and valid measure of prospective medical students’ attitudes toward required service-learning in an Immunology course. To our knowledge, no published questionnaire has been shown to be dependable and useful for measuring such attitudes using only eight survey items.MethodsFifty-eight prospective medical students in Colorado (CO) and 15 in Utah (UT) completed the same Immunology course using remote technology. In addition to the usual course content, students were required to write critical reflections on required team service-learning. On the last day of class, they completed the survey of attitudes toward service-learning (SASL).ResultsData analyses found Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.84 and 0.85 for the surveys of UT and CO students, respectively. Factor analysis of CO student data revealed only one Eigenvalue greater than one (3.95) justifying retention of a single factor termed “attitudes toward required service-learning.” In addition, CO students’ attitudes toward community service were highly positive, while UT students’ attitudes were nearer neutral (p &amp;lt; 0.0001).ConclusionOur factor analysis and good Cronbach’s alpha values support the conclusion that the SASL was a reliable measure of prospective medical students’ attitudes toward required team service-learning for an Immunology course. Moreover, we used the SASL to distinguish these attitudes in CO versus UT students, and, thus, the SASL appears to be a valid measure of this difference. Calculation of similarly good Cronbach’s alpha values – for a predecessor of the SASL among pharmacy, masters, and medical students at another institution – indicates that the SASL may be useful more widely. However, the reliability and validity of the SASL needs to be demonstrated more rigorously for other healthcare students at different universities.

Obesity and Selected Allergic and Immunological Diseases-Etiopathogenesis, Course and Management.

Obesity is a global problem. It affects every age group and is associated with many negative health effects. As an example, there is a relationship between obesity and allergic and immunological diseases, such as asthma, psoriasis, food allergies, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis. Obesity undeniably affects their development. In addition, it causes adverse changes in the course and response to therapy in relation to patients without excessive body weight. The treatment of diseases associated with obesity is difficult; drugs are less effective and must be used in higher doses, and their use in patients with obesity is often associated with higher risks. The main form of treatment of all obesity-related diseases is a change in eating habits and increased physical activity, which leads to a decrease in body fat mass. The positive effect of reducing BMI has been confirmed in many independent studies. This paper reviews various types of research documents published since 2019. It aims to systematize the latest knowledge and highlight the need for further research for effective and sustainable treatment options for obesity, its complications and obesity-related diseases.

An operational solution to supplemental instruction session design and quality control

Background: Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a peer-led academic support program and form of pre-remediation assistance. One challenge to SI adoption is the absence of session design recommendations and mechanisms of quality control. Herein, a data-informed operational framework is presented resulting in consistent weekly session design and an increase in collaboration between SI leaders and their course faculty. Methods: Sessions in the fall of 2020 were hosted on Zoom in support of a Microbiology and Immunology course. Greater than 44% of program year one (PY1) students voluntarily attended an SI session. Pre-and post-quiz assessments used Mentimeter, an audience polling platform. Results: A mean of 25.2% aggregate performance improvement was found between the pre-quiz and post-quiz assessment data. Conclusion: The quiz assessment results immediately informed personalised content review during each session and empowered feedback integration between the peer leader and faculty. The framework described improves a well-established program and is widely adaptable to any course offering.

Smart textbooks and LMS-integrated digital tools incentivize student engagement and facilitate learning in an undergraduate immunology course.

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, educators were compelled to quickly pivot their face-to-face courses to a hybrid, online, or asynchronous delivery, and to develop learning management (LMS) course websites to seamlessly delivery course content, assignments, assessments, and other instructional tools. Concurrently, textbook publishers are offering LMS-integrated, comprehensive, digital solutions, including “smart” or adaptive learning electronic textbooks. W.W. Norton &amp; Company publisher has recently released digital resources to complement the 5 thedition of Peter Parham’s The Immune System, including chapter reading assignments which incorporate adaptive quizzing and gamification using the InQuizitive feature. Here, based on student responses in early questions, subsequent questions are personally curated by learning objectives and difficulty level. Instructors may customize the difficulty level and determine a minimum score to be achieved to earn the assigned points which incentivizes students to read the textbook prior to classroom meetings or discussions. Additionally, instructor resources include Case Studies in Immunology, slides and graphics, animations, activities, primary literature suggestions, and an LMS-integrated test maker. Overall, student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, grades were substantially higher compared to previous semesters, and because more students came to class prepared, classroom time was used more efficiently such that all foundational topics outlined by the AAI Education Ad Hoc Committee were delivered. Therefore, LMS-integrated, adaptive learning textbooks are an essential component for a successful undergraduate immunology course.

A case for teaching basic immunology through scientific journalism-lesson taught by a Coronavirus went viral!

Abstract Sudden switch to online mode of learning in the March of 2020 for a Basic Immunology course lead to a cascade of experimenting teaching strategies. We at College of Pharmacy Chicago State University experimented such innovative teaching techniques for two consecutive spring semesters. One such teaching method was to deliver course content material through use of mainstream media (MSM) via scientific journalism. Basic immunology course content was divided into media-inspired topics of public concern and the students were made to research and review selected topics before we discussed those in virtual classrooms. The most common topics included immunology terms (antigen, antibody, immune reaction, innate and adaptive immunity, immunology of infection, ARDS, non-pharmacological interventions (NPI) like lockdown, masking and herd immunity, development of vaccines and therapeutics of infectious diseases. The students researched those topics in daily news outlets, i.e., TV, Radio, Newspaper, Social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and presented to the class the underlying and foundational immunology concepts making the breaking news. Subjective data was collected through student opinion surveys and objective data was analyzed through students’ performance, assessments, grades, and Course and Faculty evaluations. The study found a positive correlation between the use of scientific journalism as a teaching tool and students’ engagement, comprehension, retention and academic outcomes. The publications authored by Scientific Journalists presented the complex and complicated immunology material in a very simple and understandable way for the public, which complemented immunology students’ learning as well.

Bridging statistics and life sciences education for immunologists: Exploring significantly impactful teaching strategies and collaborations

Abstract The widespread misuse of statistics is one of the contributing factors to reproducibility concerns in immunological research. However, not all immunologists have the statistical expertise to choose the best methods to evaluate and represent their experiments, and the formal statistics training required by undergraduate and graduate immunology curricula is often quite limited. How can we prepare immunologists for statistical practice in research? We previously developed a second-year undergraduate course to integrate statistics instruction with research design to improve the quantitative training of life sciences students. In a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) study conducted within the course, student attitudes and self-efficacies for statistics, as well as their abilities to recognize and handle problems related to statistical practice in life sciences research, were assessed through surveys administered at the beginning and end of the course (n=126). Here, we present our team-teaching model and strategies for promoting meaningful connections between statistics and immunological research through course design, activities and assessments. We also highlight the results from our SoTL study, which have guided the development of several specialized immunology courses focusing on statistical practice and experimental design at the University of Toronto. We hope that insights from this teaching partnership and our SoTL findings will help inform future quantitative course offerings and training initiatives, and ultimately, better prepare students to effectively engage with statistics in immunological research.

The Use and Creation of Analogies as a Teaching Tool for Understanding Immunology

Abstract Utilizing existing knowledge of the familiar and known can build associations toward learning, understanding, retaining, and communicating complex concepts. The use of analogies while teaching complex concepts allows the unknown to become familiar and act as an aid toward deeper understanding. Analogies were used as a teaching tool during an immunology course for dental, medical, physician assistant, and graduate students to explain complex concepts. Analogies were used to communicate and enhance the learning and retention of a wide variety of complex concepts and included, but was not limited to, those related to B cell development and activation and the modifications (i.e. somatic hypermutation, affinity maturation, isotype switching) within the germinal center reaction. Analogies were also used to provide students with a teaching tool that they could imitate to create analogies to enhance their understanding and communication of complex concepts. The impact of learning complex concepts through the use of analogies resulted in self-reported increased confidence in understanding and retention of the material. Students reported that learning from and working with analogies not only enhanced their learning of the content but also provided them with a solid foundation from which to build and augment complex concepts with increased detail and added complexity toward a deeper and more nuanced understanding of complex concepts. The incorporation of analogies into the learning process augments scientific communication skills and acts as a model for effective communication while speaking to future patients about medical conditions and/or associated treatments and the general public about scientific discoveries and advancements. NA

Teaching Methods and Instructional Efficacy of Virtual Course Presentation in a Pre-Clerkship Medical Immunology Module

Abstract In March of 2020, education across the world transitioned to virtual delivery and medical education was not exempt. This study explored the efficacy of virtual medical education in a pre-clerkship immunology course during the COVID-19 pandemic at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. Course delivery methods and educational resources provided to students during either 2019 or 2020 were evaluated to generate a picture of the learning environment by year. Deidentified summative exam performance data from 204 students was analyzed across 61 matched questions that did not differ between the 2019 and 2020 exams. Statistical significance was determined by unpaired t-test using GraphPad Prism. As expected, in 2020, the content delivery shifted towards remote and asynchronous sessions. The total number of integrated clinical cases decreased in 2020 compared to 2019, although a greater percentage of the clinical cases directly mapped to the USMLE Content Outline in 2020. Formative multi-attempt online quizzes replaced in-person practice questions and the overall number of available review questions increased from 2019 to 2020. There was no significant difference in student performance between the two years on matched exam questions or on exam performance as a whole. While the switch to virtual learning offered fewer synchronous sessions for student-faculty interactions, modifications to course materials appears to have counteracted any potential learning loss. This suggests that virtual medical immunology education with adequate resources can be as effective as in-person delivery, which has implications for undergraduate and medical immunology instruction and for the entirety of medical education.