Course Organization

Whether using this text in an on-ground, a hybrid, or a fully online course, our goal is for you to work through the course materials most efficiently, given your prior knowledge. As is always the case, you have responsibility for your learning. You will need to:

The Metacognitive Cycle

Metacognition, or “thinking about thinking,” refers to your awareness of yourself as a learner and your ability to regulate your learning. Metacognition involves five different skills:

1. Assess the task—Get a handle on what is involved in completing a task (the steps or components required for success) and any constraints (time, resources).
2. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses—Evaluate your skills and knowledge about a task.
3. Plan an approach—Consider your assessment of the task and your evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses to devise an appropriate plan.
4. Apply strategies and monitor your performance—Continually monitor your progress as you work on a task, comparing where you are to the goal you want to achieve.
5. Reflect and adjust if needed—Look back on what worked and didn’t work so you can change your approach next time and, if required, start the cycle again.

These five skills can be applied repeatedly in a cycle—within the same course and from one class to another.

The sections in this chapter will give you experience working through the metacognitive cycle as it applies to this course.

You will learn how to:

1. Use the Learning Objectives to guide your focus as you move through explanatory content (text, images, audio, and animations) and complete the various activities and assessments
2. Evaluate existing knowledge and possible misconceptions regarding the learning objectives
3. Complete activities and assessments successfully to indicate mastery of the objective
4. Evaluate performance on activities and assessments to monitor your achievement of the objective
5. Revise your study methods to improve your performance on activities and assessments so that you achieve the learning objective and thus meet the success criteria

Engaging in the entire cycle of metacognitive processes as you move through this course will improve your understanding and retention of the material.

Using Learning Objectives

What are Learning Objectives? How Can I Use Them?

At the beginning of each section in a chapter, learning objectives will help prepare you for what you are about to learn and help check your understanding of the material on each page. These learning objectives explain what you will be learning to do. You can use the learning objectives to find the material you want to explore further within the course. The front page of each module lists the learning objectives covered in that module at the top of the page and presents the titles and links to the pages. If there is a particular concept or body system within this course that you are struggling with, you can always go to that system and search for objectives that mention the concept.

One of the first things you will want to do when presented with a learning objective will be to assess your ability or inability to achieve that objective. Think about how these statements can serve as a learning framework. These learning objectives can guide your focus on topic depth, breadth, and time commitment. As you read each page and complete the activities, revisit the objectives to help you identify and self-assess the learning you should be accomplishing. This task, assessment, is the first step in your metacognitive cycle. If you don’t think about what you have to do to meet success criteria, how can you be sure of being successful?

In addition, the verbs used in learning objectives indicate the cognitive processes in which you should be engaging. As you study each body system, you will learn at the knowledge and understanding level and develop your ability to use that information to work through problems.

Knowledge and understanding require you to recall previously-learned information and to show that you have a basic grasp of that material. Using a coloring book, labeling a drawing or picture, or identifying structures on models or dissections are examples of strategies that support knowledge and understanding. While basic understanding is essential, higher-level cognitive reasoning requires you to use facts to find relationships between parts of the whole (application and analysis), combine ideas to form a new whole (synthesis), and/or make decisions based on the information (evaluation). In the following activity, assess the skills you will most likely be applying.

You will find that some of the learning objectives are at the information recall level and may seem easier to master. Other higher-level learning objectives you may not understand immediately. However, as you work through the learning activities, study and practice, they should become clearer. Once you have achieved them, you will not only understand the concepts but be able to restate them in your own words.

Identifying Prior Knowledge and Misconceptions

Everyone will have some misconceptions and some pre-existing practical knowledge. As you work through the various learning activities within each chapter, it is important to remember they primarily guide your learning, not just score your performance. If you don’t know an answer, a hint may be all you need, or it may help you realize you need to review the content again. The immediate feedback not only lets you know if you got an answer incorrect but is intended to encourage your further exploration of the topic and review of the learning objective as you progress through the tasks.

In this course, you will frequently be presented with “Fact / Myth Exploration” activities that help you assess your prior knowledge and potential misconceptions. In these activities, you will be presented with common conceptions and misconceptions about the human body, and provide you with opportunities to explore these ideas.

In this and other courses, it is crucial to remember that it can be advantageous to evaluate your existing knowledge base for misconceptions. Once you successfully identify those gaps and inconsistencies, you can plan and apply methods to remedy any misconceptions you identified. Of course, if those inaccuracies persist, they can harm your understanding of a concept.

You can try to identify your misconceptions even when such an activity is not present. Whenever you pick an incorrect answer, ask yourself why. Sometimes it may be you didn’t know the information, but other times it may be that you have preconceptions that influence how you interpret the new information you are learning. Even if you get an answer correct, you can also check the hints and feedback for the other incorrect answers to make sure you really understand why an answer is inaccurate and don’t have any related misconceptions.

Planning Your Approach

Once you consider your assessment of the task and your evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses, it is time to devise an appropriate plan. Planning your approach is an essential step in your learning process for reasons that research supports. In the book, How Learning Works, cognitive scientists discuss significant differences between how novices and experts go about approaching a problem to solve (Ambrose et al., 2008). Experts spent significantly more time planning their approach to a problem before diving in and solving it, which they did much more quickly and accurately. Novices usually went straight to applying various solutions, fumbled around much longer, and usually not even getting to a correct solution. So, “…even though planning one’s approach to a task can increase the chances of success, students tend not to recognize the need for it.” (Ambrose et al., 2008, 380). For this reason, we will help you explore a few strategies for moving through Human Biology effectively and successfully.

The ideal way to achieve a given task is different for different individuals. Depending on your prior knowledge and skills, you may prefer to use tables to study, images, examples, or all of these.

Explanatory Content: This is the content of a page, including an introduction to the basic structures learned in each chapter. It consists of short passages with information, examples, images, videos, and explanations. Sometimes the expository text is organized for you into tables.

• Vocabulary/Terms: Many important vocabulary terms are introduced and used throughout the course, and they are presented in various ways. Sometimes definitions of higher-level concepts are pointed-out in a specific way on the page; most essential vocabulary words are highlighted at least upon their first introduction, and then again if used in another context. All these ways are presented to help you gain familiarity with the language of Human Biology.
• Examples: When a specific condition or event illustrates a concept in context, it will be noted as such. Detailed and in-depth examples provide opportunities to increase your knowledge about that particular topic, process, concept, or even structure(s).
• Images: Images are critical in this course. There is often more detailed information in the images than in the expository text.

Learn By Doing i.4

In the activity below, match possible uses for different types of content that can help further your understanding of Human Biology. Although some types of content may fill more than one role, pick the best answer for each image.

Possible Uses:

• Organize information about several comparable objects or ideas
• Provide a real-life sample or case where a concept is applied
• Highlight important words that will frequently appear
• Visually explain relationships between structures and their locations or illustrate concepts or processes

Learning Object	Appearance	Possible Use
image		?
term		?
table		?
example		?

After deciding on your answer(s), check out the feedback at the end of the chapter.

Strategies for Learning

Along with strategizing how you will apply the metacognitive cycle in your use of the various activities and course components, there are other helpful strategies to employ toward your overall success in Human Biology:

• Plan to complete all activities. More practice is always a good strategy for uncovering misconceptions and remembering and understanding the material to be learned – we have filled the course with various fun, exploratory activities to provide you with multiple opportunities to practice learning the material in different ways.
• Analyze each task. When presented with an activity or assessment in the course, it helps you to describe the cognitive level of the task and define the steps you can take to tackle it. Also, recognize that different strategies are better for certain tasks. For example, eliminating possible answer choices is a good strategy to employ when answering a multiple-choice question.
• Use the Big Ideas, Vital Functions, and Themes provided in this course as ways to organize your expanding knowledge. “[Experts’] knowledge is not simply a list of facts and formulas that are relevant to their domain; instead, their knowledge is organized around core concepts or “big ideas” that guide their thinking about their domains.”
• Make your own graphic representations (e.g., concept maps, flow charts, semantic webs) of the knowledge you acquire.
• Frequently self-question and think aloud. You should ask yourself regularly what you might already know about a topic you encounter in the course. Think about ways you might have dealt with that information before or how you solved a similar problem.
• Employ mnemonics. Mnemonics are often used in settings where a large amount of material and vocabulary needs to be memorized and recalled, such as in the medical professions. Your instructor will most likely give you many established mnemonics, such as learning to remember “spare TIRE” for abdominal muscles: Transverse abdominus, Internal oblique, Rectus abdominus, External oblique. Creating your own where necessary is also a great strategy.
• Summarize and explain concepts in your own words to someone else. You can start to use this strategy by rephrasing objectives and then continue with any concepts presented on the pages of this course. By performing this practice, you are rehearsing many steps in the metacognitive process at once.

Doing the Work and Monitoring Performance

After assessing the task at hand, evaluating your strengths and weakness, and mindfully applying the selected strategies to hopefully increase your learning and retention, the next thing to do is to monitor your performance so that you know if the strategies are working and that you are growing your knowledge. While practice and multiple learning modes are important, studying longer will not ensure you are learning the material. You have to find a way to test yourself to know what you have mastered and what you still need to work on more. Try using some of the same learning strategies, but this time do it without your notes.

Example: Learning Strategy

Make a graphic organizer or table of information from memory, and you will quickly see which parts you haven’t learned just yet. Then go back to your notes to check your answers for correctness and completeness, and try new strategies to learn the parts you couldn’t complete by memory. If using flashcards, separate them into two piles as you review: ones you got correct and ones you didn’t. Put the ones you got correct away for a day or two, then see if you can still get them right when you put them back into the mix with the other cards you continued to study.

An important feature of this book is that the activities within the book are meant to be a safe place for practicing the concepts you are just learning. You may keep trying them until you answer correctly. As you work carefully through the activities, take advantage of all hints and feedback. Also, see if you can use the hints to write different questions to make each of the incorrect answers now the correct choice. If you have a study group, ask these in your meetings or trade questions with another student. Review the Learn by Doing and Did I Get This questions several days after completing a section and moving on to the next. This practice will help check your retention, and you may discover new linkages to the things you have learned since you first did that earlier chapter.

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“Learn By Doing” and “Did I Get This?” Feedback

Learn By Doing i.1

An important part of the metacognitive cycle is assessing the task, so you know what you will need to do to meet the learning criteria successfully. Let’s look at some body systems you will be studying, and most people have a basic knowledge about.

For each of the following sample learning objectives associated with an organ system in this course, assess the level of cognitive process you will most likely be applying. After you finish, compare your choices with the information at the end of the chapter.

Choose between knowledge and understanding OR reasoning proficiency:

1. Identify the structure and location of the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.
   Knowledge and understanding are correct. This objective includes identifying anatomical parts by description and location. While you need to be able to identify structures and functions by description, you are not asked to perform analysis, generate conclusions, or integrate information.
2. Explain the role of the integumentary and muscular systems in maintaining temperature homeostasis.
   Reasoning proficiency is correct. You will have to apply not only what you learned about these systems but how they function together to maintain a balance in the body.
3. Trace the path of light through the eye and nerve impulses from the retina to various parts of the brain.
   Knowledge and understanding is correct. This sequencing activity is a bit more involved than just randomly identifying parts but is still a basic level of recall of information you have learned.
4. Identify the cells of the epidermis based on their location and anatomic structure.
   Knowledge and understanding is correct. This objective involves cells in different parts of the epidermis but is still just using what you have learned about their basic anatomy and physiology. While this information could help you with a more involved learning objective such as how the skin repairs itself after damage, this is still just learning facts associated with specific parts of the integumentary system.
5. List the cell types and extracellular matrix components in the bone and describe their function.
   Knowledge and understanding is correct. This includes naming anatomical parts by description and giving their functions.
6. Describe, in order, from simplest to most complex, the major levels of organization of the integumentary system.
   Knowledge and understanding is correct. This is a type of classification task. While this seems more than recall because you must put them in the right order, it is still just recalling the descriptions you have learned.
7. Describe how a medical professional can use changes in the appearance of the skin to predict certain medical conditions.
   Reasoning proficiency is correct. You will have to apply not only what you learned about the skin and its normal function but describe how you can apply that information.
8. Predict the types of problems that would occur in the body if the respiratory system was not functioning normally.
   Reasoning proficiency is correct. You will have to apply not only what you learned about this system and its normal function but make predictions about what will happen to it and other systems if it is not able to function properly.
9. Define the joint-related terms: aponeuroses, tendons, and bursae.
   Knowledge and understanding is correct. This is a type of definition task. While you have to give the definition in your own words, it is still just recalling the facts you have learned.
10. Distinguish between exocrine and endocrine functions of the digestive system cells and relate this to their role in the overall process of digestion.
    Reasoning proficiency is correct. While you have to give specific examples you have learned, you will be differentiating and synthesizing this information to explain how they function within the system.

Did I Get This? i.1

1. Describe some study techniques that would be especially useful when learning body system terminology and parts at the knowledge and understanding level.
   OUR ANSWER: Much of this type of learning is based on identifying a structure on an image or by describing and defining associated terms. You could create blank classification charts similar to the ones in the unit and see if you can fill them in with your own words after studying. You could also create flashcards for terms in bold in a unit or your textbook to help learn descriptions and definitions. Labeling and coloring activities, typically found in lab manuals, can also be helpful in learning the organ system structures. Creating a flow chart that puts structures or events in sequence will help with some processes that occur in steps. See the section on Learning Strategies for more ideas.
2. Describe some study techniques best suited to learning objectives at the reasoning level.
   OUR ANSWER: Reasoning requires applying what you have learned about the system. You can create a mind map that shows relationships among different parts and processes. Completing a Venn diagram is an excellent way to compare and contrast two or three related structures or functions, and organizational tables help you analyze multiple characteristics. Watching animated videos of a physiological process and then creating your own outline or drawing of the process can help you learn the important events and how they interact. Reading case studies can help you predict and evaluate the effects on organ systems. See the section on Learning Strategies for more ideas.

Learn By Doing i.2

For each of the following, decide if you think the statement is a fact or a myth.

1. Sugar causes hyperactivity in children.
   Myth: This is a myth that has been disproven by multiple studies. The systems that keep blood sugar regulated after eating are effective in children and adults. Any differences in behavior observed by adults are the result of adults seeing what they expect to see, a phenomenon called confirmation bias.
   
2. Fingernails and hair continue to grow after death.
   Myth: Tissue grows because cells multiply. This process requires cellular energy (ATP), and once death occurs, there is no ATP available for this process. After death, the skin shrinks, which gives the appearance of longer hair and nails.
3. Warts can be caught from toads.
   Myth: A virus cause warts, and the human-specific virus is not spread between different species, such as a toad and a human.
4. Going outside in cold, wet weather will cause you to catch a cold.
   Myth: There isn’t any evidence that being in cold, wet weather increases your risk of catching a cold. The rhinovirus, not the weather, causes colds.
5. We only use about 10% of our brains.
   Myth: This myth developed from the overgeneralization of a psychology theory before brain imaging techniques allowed us to understand how different parts of the brain work at different times.
6. The liver and spleen can regenerate.
   Fact: Some organs in the human body can repair and regenerate when damaged. This is limited and related to the major type of tissue in that organ. Excessive damage can destroy any organ.
7. Cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis.
   Myth: Cracking knuckles is the sound of gas bubbles and does not cause arthritis. Arthritis is a group of inflammatory conditions and can be caused by aging or pathological events at the joint.
8. Women have a better sense of smell than men.
   Fact: This one is true. Numerous studies have demonstrated that women have a more sensitive sense of smell.
9. Humans can survive longer without food than without sleep.
   Fact: Humans can go months without food but only a few days without sleep.
10. The width of your arm span is equal to your height.
    Fact: This is true; try it!

Learn By Doing i.3

One of the most prominent features in this book is Learn By Doing activities. These activities allow you to practice a skill or better understand a new concept. Which of the following do you think is true about Learn By Doing question types in this course?

• Only the question and correct answer matter in a Learn By Doing.
  No, you can learn something by reviewing all the questions’ hints and feedback. Often the list of answer choices for a Learn By Doing is carefully selected based on common misconceptions about the question.
• They are only presented at the end of a chunk of content to evaluate your knowledge of the presented concept.
  No, Learn By Doing question types are usually found right after a presented concept so that you can practice the concept as you learn it. These question types are scaffolded to give support “as needed” by providing tailored hints and feedback. Did I Get This activity types are usually presented at the end of a chunk of content so you can self-assess.
• They may introduce you to new aspects of a concept that you are currently learning.
  Yes, Learn By Doing questions often not only test your knowledge of a concept but also expand that knowledge and/or provide specific examples to practice the concept in context.
• They can be skipped if you think you already know the answer.
  No, Learn by Doing question types should never be skipped because they might offer additional information to be learned or expand on a concept.

Did I Get This? i.2

Which components are usually found in both a Learn By Doing question and a Did I Get This question?

• Hints
  No, hints are usually found in Learn By Doing questions but not in Did I Get This (although some of these questions may contain hints if it is a particularly difficult concept).
• Ability to rate yourself against the learning outcomes
  No, you might encounter other activity types that offer this opportunity, but they will not be Learn By Doing or Did I Get This questions about the content.
• Detailed Feedback
  Yes, Detailed feedback about why a selected answer is correct or incorrect is part of every activity in the book.
• Expository text (Expository text is a form of writing focused on educating the reader about factual information.)
  No, Did I Get This activity types will not have expository text offering more information about a concept, but Learn By Doing question types might.

When will you most likely succeed at a “Did I Get This” activity?

• After exploring all of the content on the page, including any Learn By Doings and Walkthroughs
  Yes, You want to complete a DIGT to check your understanding of the content you just went through.
• Before having read any of the content on the page
  No, if you try to complete the DIGT before exploring the page content, you will only be testing yourself on what you knew before you read the section.

Learn By Doing i.4

In the activity below, match possible uses for different types of content that can help further your understanding of Human Biology.

Possible Uses:

• Organize information about several comparable objects or ideas
• Provide a real-life sample or case where a concept is applied
• Highlight important words that will frequently appear
• Visually explain relationships between structures and their locations or illustrate concepts or processes

Learning Object	Appearance	Possible Uses
image		Visually explain relationships between structures and their locations or illustrate concepts or processes
term		Highlight important words that appear frequently
table		Organize information about several comparable objects or ideas
example		Provide a real-life sample or case where a concept is applied