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Murray Jensen
General College
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The course content in entry-level anatomy classes is hard enough
on its own: students are expected to grasp a significant number
of key concepts as well as learn a large volume of facts and terminology.
In General College at the University of Minnesota, freshman students
enrolling in Murray Jensen's human anatomy and physiology class
often face an additional challenge, because many bring a high level
of science anxiety with them. Fortunately for his students, Jensen,
an associate professor of biological science in General College,
is a leader in the development of innovative strategies to teach
biology.
Jensen's key concept in his teaching is "universal design,"
meaning that he structures course content so it can be adapted to
many different modes of learning. Some students have success with
traditional methods such as flash cards and mnemonics, but others
do not fare well using these approaches. To offer students another
option that would dovetail well with the increased presence of technology
in our society, several years ago Jensen developed a Web site teaching
tool known as WebAnatomy. Jensen designed the site as a low-pressure
learning activity for teaching anatomy and physiology students who
like using computers.
"WebAnatomy helps students learn basic anatomy outside of class
time," explains Jensen. "More and more class time is spent
on physiology, and less and less on learning the names of bones
and muscles. However, we still do require students to learn their
biceps from their buccinator, and this is where WebAnatomy comes
in." WebAnatomy teaches basic anatomy facts, but not complex
subjects, through an interactive, noncompetitive quiz-like interface
that is self-paced. The success of WebAnatomy is reflected both
in the traffic that the site receives--over three million hits each
year from students all over the world--and the feedback that Jensen
receives from his students in their course-end evaluations.
Currently, Jensen is in the process of developing a new gaming technology
for use in his class. He and programmer Kevin Stanek are using computer-based
tools called Flash learning objects to create a multi-player, "Jeopardy-style"
game. Development of the game will be completed in time for the
fall 2005 semester. "By adding an element of competition, students
will ideally spend extended time playing the game, and by playing
the game they will learn more anatomy and physiology," says
Jensen. Jensen plans to offer both an unrestricted Web site available
to anyone in the world and a separate site that his students can
use to earn bonus points to be applied to class quizzes and exams.
Research into the use of games in science courses is relatively
new. Jensen is particularly interested in cooperative learning,
which the new anatomy game will facilitate. "My contribution
to this research field will relate to how students cooperate within
teams while they engage in a competition between teams, and how
different cooperative and competitive arrangements effect student
test scores and attitudes toward science and group work," notes
Jensen.
The Flash objects that Jensen is creating can be repurposed for
any discipline. When initial development of Jensen's game is completed,
copies of the game template will be given to the University's Digital
Media Center. According to Jensen, "Any U of M professor willing
to create question sets could use the program template to create
similar games for his or her courses."
Murray Jensen's home page: www.gen.umn.edu/faculty_staff/jensen/
WebAnatomy site: www.msjensen.gen.umn.edu/webanatomy/
Digital Media Center: dmc.umn.edu/
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