Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 272, Issue 6 19-S25, Copyright © 1997 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

A quarter-long exercise that introduces general education students to neurophysiology and scientific writing

B. I. Krilowicz, H. Henter and L. Kamhi-Stein
Department of Biology and Microbiology, Charter School of Education, California State University, Los Angeles 90032, USA.

Providing large numbers of general education students with an introduction to science is a challenge. To meet this challenge, a quarter-long neurophysiology project was developed for use in an introductory biology course. The primary goals of this multistep project were to introduce students to the scientific method, scientific writing, on-line scientific bibliographic databases, and the scientific literature, while improving their academic literacy skills. Students began by collecting data on their own circadian rhythms in autonomic, motor, and cognitive function, reliably demonstrating the predicted circadian changes in heart rate, eye-hand coordination, and adding speed. Students wrote a journal-style article using pooled class data. Students were prepared to write the paper by several methods that were designed to improve academic language skills, including a library training exercise, "modeling" of the writing assignment, and drafting of subsections of the paper. This multistep neurophysiology project represents a significant commitment of time by both students and instructors, but produces a valuable finished product and ideally gives introductory students a positive first experience with science.

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