Eng Phys 3X03

Course outline

Groups

Schedule

Logbook

Individual essay

Final group essay

Marking scheme

Problems

Comments

Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks from Luisa to succeed in Eng Phys 3X03!!!!

First and foremost, you have to have SOME interest in physiology, otherwise you might be in a bit of trouble.  Aside from that, I have put together some ideas that you might find will help you to get the most out of this course, and hopefully a great mark too!  I hope everyone finds this useful, and please, do not hesitate to ask me any questions if you would like further help!

 Pick up a physiology textbook as soon as possible

• All too many students find themselves with their group topic, and immediately go to a search engine to learn about just that topic.  While this may provide quick information, it will likely be at a level that you don’t grasp yet.

• Glance through textbooks, even if you look at just the diagrams to being with. There is a lot of information in these books, but they have been written so many times (some are on their 15^th edition) that they are VERY comprehensive. 

• Begin to understand the basics.  This should be done in the first weeks of the term.

Discuss the basics of physiology with your group members

• Set aside one meeting (hopefully at the beginning of the term) where you just have a “basic physiology” discussion with your group.  This will establish that everyone has the same starting point before going out and doing in-depth research.

• Later on, when you are writing the report, this will also save a lot of overlap since each group member will not have to re-explain the basics in their section of the report

  Where to go after the basics?

• I know everyone will learn the basics now that I have stressed how important it is, so where do you go next?  A journal that is specifically on your topic is probably a bad idea since it will be too specific.  Instead, try articles written that summarize these journal articles.  Such articles can be found in “Science”, “Nature”, “Scientific American” and other such journal types.  These are well written, and will provide concise information related to your topic. You can also limit searches on Medline to “review articles”.

• Then move on to Medline, either online or in the Health Sciences Library (the library will provide access to full articles).  After this, anything goes.  By this time, you should have an excellent understanding and comprehension for many higher level journal articles.

Research each week

• We know that you have other classes (engineering none the less!), but you are only coming to 3X03 for an hour every two weeks.  Your other courses demand 3 hours of lecture per week (not to mention tutorials and labs).  This class should be treated the same; if you put the work off, this will only bring your mark down.  One or two hours (or more!) per week of research will provide a lot of information, and a better understanding of your topic.  Not to mention, this way you will be prepared, and can pick Dr. Huizinga’s brain when you come to the bi-weekly meetings! 

Logbook Etiquette

• For your benefit only:  put in the logbooks what YOU understood about what you read, don’t simply copy out text.  When you are looking back at the information, you will wonder what the heck was so important about what you wrote, so use the logbook as an opportunity to expand on your brilliant ideas.  The logbook should be a reflection of what your interpretation was.

• ANSWER QUESTIONS!  This cannot be stressed enough.  Create your own questions, and find the answers for them.  Use this to guide what your research achieves.  Remember, there is no one correct report we will be looking for, but the more questions you ask, the more enriched your research will be.  Not to mention, you will actually be thinking instead of mindlessly copying out of an article.

• Keep all your research in your logbook.  Do not keep research in more than one location!

 Don’t know where to look?  Coming to a roadblock?

• Ask Dr. Huizinga or myself questions if you are having difficulty finding enough physiological information.  It could be that you are approaching the problem looking for one specific solution, when many other approaches are available.

  Relate to the entire body

• A descent paper will describe the topic.  An excellent paper will relate your topic to the entire body.  In fact, it would be very difficult to understand your topic without understanding how it relates to the entire body.   

 Pharmacology

• At some point, you will have to learn how drugs interact with the body.  Here is where if you don’t know the physiology basics, you will have trouble.  To make things simple, instead of looking at a series of drugs and how they react at limited locations in the body, take one drug, find out how it interacts with the entire body, and from this knowledge, expand to other drugs.  Once you know the procedure for one drug, the others will seem simple. 

• All group members should have a fairly good understanding of pharmacology.  So, if not everyone in the group has a good understanding (for one reason or another) educate the others.

• Get to know the liver & the kidneys!

  Pull your own weight

• Don’t expect your group members to do the work for you.  Not only is this not fair to the others, it defeats the purpose of being in a “problem based learning / inquiry” class.  Not to mention, your group members will be evaluating you, so if you aren’t doing any work, this will likely get noted.

• Keep group members informed of the research you have done, and what you plan to do.  This will improve communication between group members, and will reduce the feeling that you “don’t know what is going on”.   

I know this is a lot to take in at once, but as the term progresses, I think it will really help keep good group dynamics and to keep you at peak performance.   So basically in a nut shell, pick up a textbook, get to know the basics, keep coming back to the entire body, and always ask questions!!!