Submitted by Emily Rigby on Fri, 13/02/2026 - 13:20
"It is universally recognised that no education in an experimental science, such as Physiology, can be regarded as satisfactory unless it includes practical exercises..."
-E.H. Starling (1934), Harris, Experimental Physiology for Medical Students
An educational paper by PDN's Professor Matthew Mason, and Dr Kamilah Jooganah, Senior Teaching Associate and Course Director for Cambridge Teaching & Learning Recognition Scheme, features in the latest edition of Current Opinion in Physiology. In this paper, Prof Mason and Dr Jooganah consider the question of why ‘live’ laboratory practical classes, currently under threat of reduction or replacement by online alternatives in many institutions, are run.
Drawing on personal experience, feedback from their own students and the wider literature, they attempt to categorise the main benefits of such classes in terms of the scientific and personal development of the students. They hope that the short paper will provide a useful and accessible resource for academics around the country and beyond, who are contemplating changes to their courses. Prof Mason and Dr Jooganah will present their paper at the forthcoming Cambridge Teaching Forum in April.
Read the paper in full on Science Direct