Changing Perspectives on Anatomy & Physiology - From Killer Class to Gateway Course

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man

Anatomy and Physiology is framed as a gateway course whose challenging scope makes it pivotal for many degree pathways. The paper explains how A&P is typically encountered early by students who may be academically vulnerable, and describes evolving teaching approaches aimed at improving outcomes. It highlights active learning, multimodal opportunities, course content understanding over memorization, and integration of lecture and lab into a cohesive studio model. It also discusses supplemental instruction using peer facilitators and reviews special issues in A&P instruction and course organization.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

What Makes Anatomy & Physiology a Killer?

Student perceptions and academic pressure

Teaching practices and barriers

Perspectives from teacher and former student

Changing Perspectives on Anatomy & Physiology: From Killer Class to Gateway Course Eddie Lunsford 1 and Michael Diviney2 1 Biology Instructor, Southwestern Community College, 447 College Drive, Sylva NC 28779. communicating author [elunsford@southwesterncc.edu](elunsford@southwesterncc.edu) [2](2 Writer & Researcher. michael_diviney@gmx.com)[ Writer & Researcher. ](2 Writer & Researcher. michael_diviney@gmx.com)[michael_diviney@gmx.com](2 Writer & Researcher. michael_diviney@gmx.com) Abstract Anatomy and Physiology should be considered a gateway course due to its challenging scope and key role as a foundational prerequisite for many degree programs. Students often encounter gateway classes early in their college career when they are academically vulnerable due to their lack of university experience. A&P teaching methods are evolving to address these issues and favor more positive outcomes. New approaches include emphasizing understanding of course content (rather than relying on memorization) and creating multi-modal learning opportunities. Utilizing active learning techniques allows students to more directly participate in their education and achieve more favorable results than traditional passive methods. Furthermore, unifying A&P lecture and lab classes into a cohesive “studio model” class taught by one instructor may encourage student collaboration and increase active learning. Implementing a formal supplemental instruction program led by peer facilitators supports struggling students and yields promising results. A renewed focus on improving the teaching skills of gateway instructors is integral in creating a learning environment that maximizes academic success. In this paper, we review special issues and problems associated with A&P instruction. We also discuss how changing perspectives on course organization could improve A&P courses. Keywords: Anatomy & Physiology Gateway courses STEM Education Active Learning What Makes Anatomy & Physiology a Killer? Anatomy & physiology (A&P) courses certainly fall under the rubric of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) . At many colleges and universities, health sciences students comprise a majority of the students enrolled in those courses. This adds complexity to the task of designing and teaching high caliber A&P courses. The implication is not that health sciences students are somehow easier or more difficult to teach. Rather, their programs usually require the courses as prerequisites and often culminate in comprehensive licensure exams. These circumstances draw more interested parties into the mix and create more checksand balances regarding the quality of A&P courses. While these conditions are not exclusive to A&P students, they certainly warrant giving A&P classes a detailed look. Words and phrases such as “daunting,” “content dense,” “intimidating,”“difficult” and “conceptually challenging” have been used by students, faculty and researchers to describe A&P courses (Johnston et al., 2015; Finn & Campisi 2015) . Table 1 offers perspectives ofthe authors. Both of us are former A&P students; one now teaches the course. Like other lower-level college science courses, A&P may be taught in a format involving a single massive lecture and several smaller lab sections. So, lecture and lab may be taught by separate instructors with differing academic expectations and dissimilar teaching styles (Finn et al., 2017) . Students often feel so pressured to maintain a high average that they focus on the final course grade, often at the expense of “owning” the content (Eagleton, 2015) . Johnston et al. (2015) note that health science students enrolled in nursing programs are often older individuals who have not been involved in formal education for a long period of time. In other words, they have “gone back to school.” Many are first generation college students. The authors see these trends among other health sciences students as well. Like man

FAQs

Why does the paper argue that Anatomy & Physiology should be treated as a gateway course?

It emphasizes the course’s challenging scope and its foundational role as a prerequisite for many degree programs. Students often meet A&P early when they are academically vulnerable due to limited university experience.

What teaching changes does the paper describe to improve outcomes in A&P?

It highlights approaches that prioritize understanding rather than memorization, expand multimodal learning opportunities, and use active learning so students participate more directly.

How does the paper suggest combining lecture and lab could affect learning?

It proposes unifying A&P lecture and lab into a cohesive “studio model” class taught by one instructor to encourage student collaboration and increase active learning.

What role does supplemental instruction led by peer facilitators play?

The paper states that implementing a formal supplemental instruction program led by peer facilitators supports struggling students and yields promising results.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man