The learning design focuses on the use of an interactive multimedia program which includes animations to assist students in their learning of muscle contraction and properties.

View the Learning Design Sequence for a graphical representation of the learning design.

Students use Sarcomotion either as a guided tutorial and/or as a self-directed learning resource. Sarcomotion's functionality enables students to observe animations, explore further by manipulating the animation to identify and observe how compoentns interact together...

The main resource is the interactive multimedia program: Sarcomotion which in itself contains resources such as text-based answers to questions, illustrated with diagrams or animated sequences...

The resource can be used with a facilitator or by students working alone...

Students use the CD-Rom in tandem with either lecture or tutorial support or textbook references but it can be done without either. No prior knowledge is required as such but students would need to be focussed on some sort of cell physiology to make sense of it...

A deep understanding of the molecular processes of skeletal muscle contraction, with emphasis on control function of calcium...

Students are assessed on the material in a number of ways... usually short-answer questions asking students to explain the roles of various characters involved in the molecular process of muscle contraction. These are in the final written exam...

Students can use the material in ways which best suit their learning, and are therefore less dependent on the way the lecturer-tutor may wish to present the material...

The design came mainly from wanting students to construct their own understanding of the process in a non-verbal way, then be able to talk about it and describe it in their own words...

The design originates in difficulties trying to give large-group lectures on this material, from student evaluations of the unit and by the anecdotal evidence about how students were dealing with this part of the syllabus...

Evaluation has been done and results published in various conference proceedings...

On the second and third year our Human Biology degree students do many communication tasks as part of assessment requirements. They are usually very skilled at this and often have quite creative ideas for presenting material in tutorials and seminars but we don't know if Sarcomotion models good communication of HB concepts or not. It is only one of many factors...