title: A multidisciplinary guided practical on type I diabetes engaging students in inquiry-based learning.
abstract: In the present article, we describe a 3-day experimental workshop on type I diabetes aimed at helping high school students to understand how fundamental research on glycemia regulation contributes to the development of scientific knowledge and therapeutic strategies. The workshop engaged students in open-ended investigations and guided experiments. Each class was divided into three or four groups, with each group working with a trained doctoral student or postdoctoral fellow. During an initial questioning phase, students observed slides depicting the glycemia of individuals in various situations. Students identified hyperglycemic individuals relative to the average glycemia of the displayed population. Students were asked to devise a treatment for these diabetics. They quickly realized that they couldn't experiment on patients and understood the need for laboratory models. Each group gave ideas of experiments to perform. We then explained, taking into account their propositions, the protocols students could execute to address one of the following questions: Which criteria must an animal model of diabetes fulfill? How do pancreatic cells maintain glycemia? Is there a way to produce an insulin protein similar to the one released by human pancreatic cells? We used two different evaluation metrics of the workshop: a questionnaire filled out by the students before and after the workshop and a poster produced by students at the end of the workshop. We found that this educational approach successfully improved student awareness and understanding of the scientific reasoning and research process.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille Luminy, Aix-Marseille Université-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Parc Scientifique en Technologique de Luminy, Marseille, France; michael_mingueneau@biogen.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mingueneau
authors.affiliation: INSERM U891, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Marseille, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France;
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaix
authors.affiliation: Institut de Management Public et de Gouvernance Territoriale, Université Paul Cézanne, Marseille, France; and.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Scotti
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille Luminy, Aix-Marseille Université-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Parc Scientifique en Technologique de Luminy, Marseille, France;
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chaix
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille Luminy, Aix-Marseille Université-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Parc Scientifique en Technologique de Luminy, Marseille, France;
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reynders
authors.affiliation: Equipe de Recherche Technologique en Éducation, Association Tous Chercheurs, Aix-Marseille Université-INSERM, INMED UMR 901, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.affiliation: Equipe de Recherche Technologique en Éducation, Association Tous Chercheurs, Aix-Marseille Université-INSERM, INMED UMR 901, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thimonier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000193:education*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D032882:Comprehension; D003479:Curriculum; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D010827:Physiology / Q000193:education*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose
keywords: blood glucose physiology; diabetes; high school students; inquiry-based learning; undergraduate students