Comparative Animal Physiology Laboratory

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  BIOL 353L
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a biological sciences course for undergraduate or graduate students by Dr. George Brusch IV at California State University San Marcos. The open textbook provides students with accessible, affordable, and customizable learning resources that enhance their educational experience. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to reduce the financial burden of educational materials, making high-quality resources more accessible to all learners. Most student access the open textbook in their university Canvas page and through the internet.

Comparative Animal Physiology Lab - BIOL 353L

Brief Description of course highlights:  This laboratory course will compare physiological processes among a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species. The topics covered in laboratories will include nervous system function, muscle contraction, allometry, thermoregulation, metabolism, and cardiovascular function. We will use empirical observation to understand basic physiological responses common among species and note special adaptations as well. Prerequisites: BIOL 210, 211 and 215 with grades of C or better, or enrollment in Master’s of Science in Biology Program.
https://catalog.csusm.edu/search_advanced.php?cur_cat_oid=10&search_database=Search&search_db=Search&cpage=1&ecpage=1&ppage=1&spage=1&tpage=1&location=33&filter%5Bkeyword%5D=BIOL+353 

Student Population: Most students who take this course are junior or senior biology or biotechnology students. For BIOL majors: BIOL 210, BIOL 211, and BIOL 215 with grades of C (2.0) or better, or enrollment in the Biological Sciences graduate program. For BIOCHEM majors: BIOL 210, BIOL 211, and CHEM 275 with grades of C (2.0) or better.

Learning or student outcomes:  Students who successfully complete this course should:
1..Be able to understand basic physiological principles observed in animals during lab,
2. Collect, evaluate, and present data using quantitative skills, and
3. Be able to articulate their knowledge of animal physiology to others.
Objective 1 will be met during hands-on laboratory sessions; objectives 2 and 3 will be met through writing assignments, statistical analyses, and group work during lab.

Key challenges faced and how resolved:  Creating a custom, free lab manual is both a blessing and a curse. The good news is that it provides a no-cost course, the bad news is that any mistake in the manual only has the professor to blame. There are some directions we wrote in the lab manual that felt incredibly clear. However, students have found some of the jargon confusing so I’ve had to remain malleable and open to feedback so that it can be updated as the semester goes on to maximize student understanding. 

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: Comparative Animal Physiology

Please provide a brief description of the textbook, OER or Low-Cost option (including anything relevant to your choice)  We provide all of the laboratory materials for students. These include detailed descriptions of each weeks experiments so that students can read about them ahead of time and come prepared to complete all of the planned procedures. 

Please provide a link to access the resource.  Please email George Brusch (gbrusch@csusm.edu) if you want access to any of the course materials. 

Student access: How and where do students access materials? Students access the materials for this course primarily through their university Canvas website.

Comparative Physiology Journals to use for Lab Report

• Journal of Experimental Biology http://jeb.biologists.org
• Physiological and Biochemical Zoology https://www.jstor.org/journal/physbioczool    
• Journal of Comparative Physiology A https://link.springer.com/journal/359   
• Journal of Comparative Physiology B https://link.springer.com/journal/360
• Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry A https://www.journals.elsevier.com/comparative- biochemistry-and-physiology-part-a-molecular-and-integrative-physiology 
• Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry B https://www.journals.elsevier.com/comparative- biochemistry-and-physiology-part-b-biochemistry-and-molecular-biology  
• Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry C https://www.journals.elsevier.com/comparative- biochemistry-and-physiology-part-c-toxicology-and-pharmacology 
• American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology https://www.physiology.org/journal/ajpregu 
• Journal of Experimental Zoology A https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19325231  
• Journal of Experimental Zoology B https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15525015 
• Journal of Thermal Biology https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-thermal-biology 

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  Students save anywhere from $50-70 compared to a traditional laboratory manual.

License:. For access to the classroom resources, interested parties can contact George Brusch directly via email: gbrusch@csusm.edu

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Please provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost. My major motivation for using an open-source textbook is because it is free. This alleviates the financial burden on students, making education more accessible and equitable.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?  We created the weekly laboratory manual from scratch based on important physiological systems and how our students could experimentally detail each.  

Sharing Best Practices: It is important to be open to student feedback when creating a laboratory manual. Also accept the fact that your manual will never been in ‘final draft’ form as it will likely change each semester (or even each week!) depending on the needs of the students or the ever-changing experiments you come up with.

Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned. It was important to be patient throughout the process. What made sense to the other instructors and I did not always translate properly to the students. Not all students come with the same background, which is a net positive thing, but that means that the lab manual needs to be malleable to meet everyone’s needs.  

Instructor Name - Dr. George A Brusch IV
I am an Assistant Professor at the California State University San Marcos. 

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.csusm.edu/profiles/index.html?u=gbrusch
 
Please describe the courses you teach:  I teach introductory biology courses, animal physiology, and a variety of upper division physiology electives.

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  I love teaching and have dedicated my career to it—I get to educate and learn at the same time. I believe that my ultimate goal as an educator is to inspire a love of learning, foster critical thinking, and keep students engaged throughout the process. I have found, through trial and error, that the best way to avoid glassy-eyed students during a course is a mixture of content delivered via slides, models, drawings, and discussion, intermixed with videos, songs, and corny jokes delivered in a way that edu-tains students (i.e., educates and entertains). I have learned that to effectively reach students I need to remain malleable in my teaching style, and I rely on a variety of techniques in and out of the classroom to engage my students, including potentially embarrassing myself as we work through difficult concepts. Some students need contact in office hours, others thrive in the laboratory, and I have to respect that everyone can have a slightly different learning style.