9451265 Saltarelli The purpose of the current project is to expand the breadth and diversity of the laboratory component in the human physiology offerings at Central Michigan University to meet the specific needs of students in undergraduate and pre-professional health science curricula. The program specific needs and individual student needs for laboratory instruction in human physiology require a versatile laboratory system that can serve a diverse population of students with individualized laboratory experiences. The proposed equipment will upgrade the laboratory learning experience of students in health fitness, health education, sports medicine, pre-physical therapy, pre-medicine, nursing, and pre-dental students by offering a wider variety of laboratory experiences which could then be tailored and chosen to meet individual and program needs. The equipment will also greatly expand the capacity of the university to meet the specific laboratory needs of the non-traditional student who requires greater flexibility and self-direction in obtaining laboratory instruction. The laboratory system which is being proposed is the Thorton Modular Physiograph System. This system was chosen because of its versatility and user friendly components. It enables the student to directly observe a wide variety of physiological phenomena in discrete laboratory experiences which can be specifically applied to the various clinically oriented programs. The Thorton system is a computer based system which allows for diversity in its applications to specific programs (specifics are discussed in narrative). The versatility of this system would also enable the instructor to develop individualized and self-directed laboratory experiences to meet the needs of the expanding population of non-traditional students requiring instruction in the health related professions.
