Instructors' introduction for self-assessment slides
THIS PAGE IS FOR INSTRUCTORS.
The page for students is Instructions for examining self-assessment slides
The power of this exercise relies on students NOT having easy access to slide identification, so that diligent students can experience really recognizing what they see, with well-founded confidence that does not depend on interpretation by outside experts. All of the self-assessment slides have at least some definitive and readily-observable features (albeit occasionally small and/or inconspicuous).
The pages accessed through Introductory hints and Hints for individual slides are intended to guide beginnners to make appropriate observations (and to appreciate topics they still need to study), without explicitly naming the source tissues. The "Instructors' guide" (link below) similarly highlights key observations but also provides explicit identification for most specimens.
For most slides, noting features readily visible to the unaided eye should substantially narrow the field for consideration. Such features include shape and size of the specimen, whether edges are natural or cut, and visible variation in texture or color, especiallly whether the specimen appears layered or relatively uniform.
If students have recently studied a particular organ, this exercise can be reduced to the much simpler task of looking at each slide in a box and answering the question, "Is this the organ we have studied?" Their approach can then model the diagnostic strategy of NOT ONLY noticing confirming observations BUT ALSO intentionally seeking disconfirming observations.
Once students have reached a tentative identification for a specimen, they should attain some confidence in their conclusion by carefully and intentionally scanning the entire specimen while looking for potentially disconfirming observations. Otherwise they are essentially just guessing
Instructors should feel free to join students in their slide examination, but should limit their comments to leading questions about specific details (e.g., "Yes, this is a blood vessel," or "What else might this be?") and calling attention to details that the students might not yet have noticed. Such questioning should continue until the students have (1) made the correct identification and (2) feel appropriately confident in that identification,
If students request confirmation for identifications they have previously reached on their own, the instructor is encouraged to ask them why they lack confidence in their own conclusions. Then offer to join them at the microscope while they demonstrate evidence supporting each conclusion: If they have been misled, challenge their identification by pointing out specific details which might be inconsistent with their conclusion and asking for explanation of these details.
On the next page are the specimen identifications, with extended comments for those which present special difficulties.
Comments and questions: dgking@siu.edu
SIUC / School
of Medicine / Anatomy / David
King
https://histology.siu.edu/SAQslidecheat.htm
Last updated: 27 December 2024 / dgk