Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence Group, LLC, Doing Business As LPBI Group, Newton, MA

Medical School Education: Use of LPBI Group’s Contents

On this Page Dr. Stephen J. Williams, PhD will post his instruction materials for two audiences:

1. Students in the Medical School at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. Course material in the Biological Sciences
2. Internet audience visitors to our Website

UPDATED 2/18/2024

Use of LPBI Group’s Platform and Content to Measure Student Engagement and Fascilitate New Course Construction

This page will be dedicated to examples of the utiltity of incorporating LPBI Group content, mainly from

• online open access scientific journal
• audio podcasts
• library of images
• biomedical e-book series
• site statistics in JetPack

for use in measuring student engagement with the course material, the utiltiy of the material to expand on student learning, and the usefulness for instructors in using LPBI content for course construction and course material.  In addition a case example of the benefits of LPBI platform during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and online learning will be discussed.

The first part will discuss issues of student engagement and how the LPBI platform was used to measure student engagement and enhance student learning, especially student self-learning.  The next part, which will be posted at a later date, will discuss case-use examples of LPBI platform offerings to construct a course (objectives, syllabus, course material, individual lectures) and how LPBI can fascilitate both synchronous and asynchronous course design and learning in the biomedical fields.  In addition, as LPBI content contains up-to-date information and is updated on a periodic basis, course material reflects current concepts and new ideas in this rapidly expanding field of biomedicine.

Measuring Student Engagement – a Series of Case Examples

The examples used to construct the following data were obtained from two courses taught at Temple University, in the College of Science and Technology.  These courses are upper level undergraduate with some graduate students attending.  The courses are of an advanced medical nature

1.  Cell Signaling & Cell Motility –  This is an upper level undergraduate course, available to graduate students which explains, in-depth, the intricasies on a molecular level,  how cellular signals are recieved and transmitted in the cell to produce changes in cellular processes.  The course contains explanations of basic concepts of medical pharmacology and is considered a preview of medical pharmacology, discussing cellular receptors, transduction systems, second messenger systems, desensitization, receptor-ligand binding, and molecular basis of phenotypic changes such as cell motility and cell proliferation.  Receptorial systems ranging from G Protein Coupled Receptors, Receptor Tyrosine Kinases to WNT ligands are discussed.
2. Cancer Therapeutics and Diagnostics–  This course is offered to undergraduates but with use of LPBI platform was changed from a topical course to a discussion of paradigm shifts in the development of the cancer research field with empasis on those discoveries that led to our changing thought process in how to treat and diagnose the disease.  A major emphasis is put on class discussions and critical out-of-the-box thinking

Please note the following data were obtained in two different settings

1. SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: During spring semester of 2020, specifically in February, Temple University had to shutter in class lectures however did not at that time have an online alternative.  Zoom was just becoming available however not offered yet through the Temple online course system Blackboard and then Canvas.  Professors had to devise their own system.  This necessitated asyncronous learning and put strain on students and instructors.  There was no methodology to measure engagement or performance as with in person classes
2. post-pandemic in person/mixed:  in 2022 classes were mainly in person with some being online as issues with COVID still existed (students having symptoms were not permitted in class thereby creating a need for dual in person online strategy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use of LPBI Platform to engage students in Assignments and Group Discussion using synchronous and asynchronous educational techniques

 

An assignment was given as an out-of-lecture asynchronous group discussion exercise to 150 students (15 groups) in class Cell Signaling and Motility, Temple University BIOL 3373 to complete as a submitted short essay.

Group Discussion 5: Tight Junctions, Cell Adhesion molecules in disease

For this discussion go to the following web page:

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2019/04/09/lesson-8-cell-signaling-and-motility-lesson-and-supplemental-information-on-cell-junctions-and-ecm-tubiol3373/Links to an external site.

Discuss

1. the role of tight junctions in
2. 1. kidney disease
   2. lung disease
   3. brain function
3. the role of EpCAM in normal physiology and disease

Discuss among yourselves how alterations in either tight junctions or cell adhesion molecules can cause disease.  Please just give short essay answer (one page).

 

The aforementioned link brought students to the following page containing a curation of curated articles from LPBI Online Access Scientific Journal:

Lesson 8 Cell Signaling and Motility: Lesson and Supplemental Information on Cell Junctions and ECM: #TUBiol3373

Curator: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

Please click on the following link for the PowerPoint Presentation for Lecture 8 on Cell Junctions and the  Extracellular Matrix: (this is same lesson from 2018 so don’t worry that file says 2018)

cell signaling 8 lesson 2018

 

Some other reading on this lesson on this Open Access Journal Include: (each are hyperlinks)

On Cell Junctions:

Translational Research on the Mechanism of Water and Electrolyte Movements into the Cell     

(pay particular attention to article by Fischbarg on importance of tight junctions for proper water and electrolyte movement)

The Role of Tight Junction Proteins in Water and Electrolyte Transport

(pay attention to article of role of tight junction in kidney in the Loop of Henle and the collecting tubule)

EpCAM [7.4]

(a tight junction protein)

Signaling and Signaling Pathways

(for this lesson pay attention to the part that shows how Receptor Tyrosine Kinase activation (RTK) can lead to signaling to an integrin and also how the thrombin receptor leads to cellular signals both to GPCR (G-protein coupled receptors like the thrombin receptor, the ADP receptor; but also the signaling cascades that lead to integrin activation of integrins leading to adhesion to insoluble fibrin mesh of the newly formed clot and subsequent adhesion of platelets, forming the platelet plug during thrombosis.)

On the Extracellular Matrix

Three-Dimensional Fibroblast Matrix Improves Left Ventricular Function Post MI

 

Arteriogenesis and Cardiac Repair: Two Biomaterials – Injectable Thymosin beta4 and Myocardial Matrix Hydrogel

Note how each curation (linked article) draws the student to new topics but, using the context of a curation, allows the instructor to highlight those critical aspects which would be the important points to be learned or useful for the specific exercise, assignment, and/or group discussion.

Results

 

Article	Author/Curator	Views outside assignment period	Views during assignment period	Total views
Lesson 8 Cell Signaling and Motility: Lesson and Supplemental Information on Cell Junctions and ECM: #TUBiol3373	S Williams	38	268	306
Translational Research on the Mechanism of Water and Electrolyte Movements into the Cell	L Bernstein	18	79	97
The Role of Tight Junction Proteins in Water and Electrolyte Transport	L Bernstein	7	106	113
EpCAM [7.4]	L Bernstein	7	66	73
Signaling and Signaling Pathways	L Bernstein	28	59	87
Three-Dimensional Fibroblast Matrix Improves Left Ventricular Function Post MI	L Bernstein	0	26	28
Arteriogenesis and Cardiac Repair: Two Biomaterials – Injectable Thymosin beta4 and Myocardial Matrix Hydrogel	Aviva Lev-Ari	12	59	71
Total Views		110	663	773

 

Analysis of Utilizing LPBI Group’s Scientific Curation Platform as an Educational Tool: New Paradigm for Student Engagement

Author: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

 

Use of LBPI Platform for Educational Purposes

Goal:  to offer supplemental information for student lessons in an upper level Biology course on Cell Signaling and Cell Motility with emphasis on disease etiology including cancer, neurological disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Course:  Temple University Department of Biology course Cell Signaling and Motility Spring semester 2019. Forty five students enrolled.

Methodology:  Each weekly lesson was presented to students as a PowerPoint presentation.  After each lesson the powerpoint presentation was originally meant to be disseminated to each class-registered student on the students Canvas account.  Canvas is a cloud based Learning Management Software developed by educational technology company Salt Lake City, Utah company Infrastructure, Inc.  According to rough figures, Canvas® charges a setup fee and at least $30 per user (for a university the size of Temple University: 55,000 students at $30 each = 1.6 million a semester for user fees only).

As a result of a technical issue with uploading the first week lesson on this system, I had informed the class that, as an alternative means, class presentation notes and lectures will be posted on the site www.pharmaceuticalintelligence.com as a separate post and searchable on all search engines including Google, Twitter, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook etc. In addition, I had informed the students that supplemental information, from curated posts and articles from our site, would be added to the class lecture post as supplemental information they could use for further reading on the material as well as helpful information and reference for class projects.

The posted material was tagged with #TUBiol3373 (university abbreviation, department, course number) and disseminated to various social media platforms using our system.  This allowed the students to enter #TUBiol3373 in any search engine to easily find their lecture notes and supplemental information.

This gave students access to lectures on a mobile platform which was easily discoverable due to our ability to do search engine optimization. (#TUBiol3373 was among the first search results on most popular search engines).

From a technical standpoint,  the ease at which posts of this nature can be made as well as the ease of including links to full articles as references as well as media has been noted.  Although students seem to navigate the Canvas software with ease, they had noticed many professors have issues or problems with using this software, especially with navigating the software for their needs.   LBPI’s platform is an easily updated, accessible, and extensive knowledge system which can alleviate many of these technical issues and provide the added value of incorporating media based instructional material as well as downloadable file and allow the instructor ability to expound on the presented material with commentary.  In addition due to the social nature of the platform, feedback can be attained by use of curated site statistics and commentary sections as well as online surveys.

 

Results

After the first week, all 45 students used LBPI platform to access these lecture notes with 17 out of 45 continuing to refer to the site during every week (week 1-4) to the class notes.  This was evident from our site statistics as well as number of downloads of the material.  The students had used the #TUBIol3373 and were directed to the site mainly from search engines Google and Yahoo.  In addition, students had also clicked on the links corresponding to supplemental information which I had included, from articles on our site.  In addition, because of the ability to incorporate media on our site, additional information including instructional videos and interviews were included in lecture posts, and this material was easily updated on the instructor’s side.

Adoption of the additional material from our site was outstanding, as many students had verbally said that the additional material was very useful in their studies.  This was also evidenced by site statistics owing to the secondary clicks made from the class lecture post going to additional articles, some not even included as links on the original post.

In addition, and  more important, students had incorporated many of the information from the additional site articles posted and referenced in their class group projects.  At end of semester a survey was emailed to each student  to assess the usefulness of such a teaching strategy. Results of the polling are shown below.

Results from polling of students of #TUBiol3373 “Cell Signaling & Motility” Class

Do you find using a web based platform such as a site like this an easier communication platform for posting lecture notes/added information than a platform like Canvas®? (5 votes)

Answer	Votes	Percent
Yes	2	40%
Somewhat but could use some improvement	2	40%
No	1	20%
Did not use web site	0	0%

 

Do you find using an open access, curated information platform like this site more useful than using multiple sources to find useful extra study/presentation materials? (6 votes)

Answer	Votes	Percent
Yes	5	83%
No	1	17%

 

Did you use the search engine on the site (located on the top right of the home page) to find extra information on topics for your presentations/study material? (5 votes)

Answer	Votes	Percent
Yes	4	67%
No	1	17%
Did not use web site	1	17%

 

Were you able to easily find the supplemental information for each lecture on search engines like Google/Yahoo/Bing/Twitter using the hashtag #TUBiol3373? (6 votes)

Answer	Votes	Percent
Yes I was able to find the site easily	4	67%
No	1	17%
Did not use a search engine to find site, went directly to site	1	17%
Encountered some difficulty	0	0%
Did not use the site for supplemental or class information	0	0%

 

How did you find the supplemental material included on this site above the Powerpoint presented material for each of the lectures? (7 votes)

Answer	Votes	Percent
Very Useful	4	57%
Did not use supplemental information	2	29%
Somewhat Useful	1	14%
Not Useful	0	0%

How many times did you use the information on this site (https://www.pharmaceuticalintelligence.com) for class/test/project preparation? (7 votes)

Answer	Votes	Percent
Frequently	3	43%
Sparingly	2	29%
Occasionally	1	14%
Never	1	14%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Views of #TUBiol3373 lessons/posts on www.pharmaceuticalintelligence.com                    

 

Lesson/Title	Total # views	# views 1st day	# views 2nd day	% views day 1 and 2	% views  after 1st 2 days
Lesson 1 AND 2 Cell Signaling & Motility: Lessons, Curations and Articles of reference as supplemental information: #TUBiol3373	60	27	15	93%	45%
Lesson 3 Cell Signaling And Motility: G Proteins, Signal Transduction: Curations and Articles of reference as supplemental information: #TUBiol3373	56	12	11	51%	93%
Lesson 4 Cell Signaling And Motility: G Proteins, Signal Transduction: Curations and Articles of reference as supplemental information: #TUBiol3373	37	17	6	48%	31%
Lesson 5 Cell Signaling And Motility: Cytoskeleton & Actin: Curations and Articles of reference as supplemental information: #TUBiol3373	13	6	2	17%	15%
Lesson 8 Cell Signaling and Motility: Lesson and Supplemental Information on Cell Junctions and ECM: #TUBiol3373	16	8	2	22%	13%
Lesson 9 Cell Signaling: Curations and Articles of reference as supplemental information for lecture section on WNTs: #TUBioll3373	20	10	3	28%	15%
Curation of selected topics and articles on Role of G-Protein Coupled Receptors in Chronic Disease as supplemental information for #TUBiol3373	19	11	2	28%	13%
Lesson 10 on Cancer, Oncogenes, and Aberrant Cell Signal Termination in Disease for #TUBiol3373	21	10	2	26%	20%
Totals	247	69	46	31%	62%

 

Note: for calculation of %views on days 1 and 2 of posting lesson and supplemental material on the journal; %views day1 and 2 = (#views day 1 + #views day 2)*100/45 {45 students in class}

For calculation of %views past day 1 and 2 = (total # views – day1 views – day2 views) * 100/45

For calculation in total column last two columns were divided by # of students (45) and # of posts (8)

 

Overall class engagement was positive with 31% of students interacting with the site during the course on the first two days after posting lessons while 61% of students interacted with the site during the rest of the duration of the course.  The higher number of students interacting with the site after the first two days after lecture and posting may be due to a higher number of students using the posted material for study for the test and using material for presentation purposes.

Engagement with the site for the first two days post lecture ranged from 93% engagement to 22% engagement.  As the class neared the first exam engagement with the site was high however engagement was lower near the end of the class period potentially due to the last exam was a group project and not a written exam.  Students appeared to engage highly with the site to get material for study for the written exam however there still was significant engagement by students for purposes of preparation for oral group projects.  Possibly engagement with the site post 2 days for the later lectures could be higher if a written exam was also given towards the end of the class as well.  This type of analysis allows the professor to understand the level of class engagement week by week.

The results of post-class polling confirm some of the conclusions on engagement.  After the final grades were given out all 45 students received an email with a link to the poll.  Of the 45 students emailed, there were 20 views of the poll with 5-7 answers per question.  Interestingly, most answers were positive on the site and the use of curated material for learning and a source of research project material.   It was very easy finding the posts using the #classname and most students used Google to find the material, which was at the top of Google search results.  Not many students used Twitter or other search engines.  Some went directly to the site.  A majority (71%) found the material useful or somewhat useful for their class presentations and researching topics.

 

 

This case represents the period of return to in-person instruction