Online interactive case studies to support physiology teaching
Describe below the context of your / the project team’s approach to enhance teaching and learning
Physiology is the study of life. It is a core component of medical sciences and healthcare degree programmes, including medicine and pharmacy. However, students frequently report that physiology is challenging. This is partly due to the complex and conceptual nature of the subject matter, excessive jargon and a reliance on passive learning methods such as rewatching lecture recordings.
Case-based learning is an active learning approach that requires students to apply their knowledge to solve “real-world” problems. Case-based learning has a long history in medical education and has also been successfully applied across a range of disciplines, including Law and Mathematics. While there are several websites with freely accessible physiology case studies, these are primarily designed to support delivery of synchronous case-based learning sessions. To the best of our knowledge, there is no existing online resource that provides free, interactive case studies for students studying physiology.
Provide below a description of the project and either briefly describe your role as an individual and, if applicable, the role of all other stakeholders involved in the project; or briefly describe the roles of all named above
The aim of our project was to develop a series of interactive open access online case studies to support physiology teaching. I conceived the idea and led the project, which began in January 2024, when I supervised a physiology student to develop an interactive case study as part of their Honours project. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and inspired the larger project.
The project co-lead and I wrote a successful application for an Education and Teaching Award from the Physiological Society. With their input, I built the website () to host the content and developed 5 case studies. The grant funded two 6 week summer studentships. We co-supervised two undergraduate medical science students at the 51cg to develop a further 5 case studies.
Give below a rationale for your / the project team’s teaching approach or new initiative
The main motivation for this project was the lack of interactive open access online resources to support physiology learning. Students often rely heavily on passive revision methods such as reading notes and rewatching lecture recordings. We wanted to encourage them to engage more actively with content and apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios. A students as partners approach was also central to the project, bringing a different perspective to the design process. As well as financial support, students gained an opportunity to develop transferable skills including communication, academic writing and problem solving.
We developed the case studies using H5P (HTML5 package). This is a free, mobile-friendly software that enables the creation of a wide range of interactive content without coding, including MCQs and image labelling. Another advantage is its good accessibility features.
Provide below details of how your / the project team’s new teaching approach or solution has been / will be disseminated with colleagues and students within and beyond the University. Is the approach transferable to other disciplines?
The work has resulted in three abstracts presented at two international conferences. Three undergraduate students were included as co-authors.
I delivered an oral presentation at Physiology in Focus at the University of Northumbria in 2024 on a students as partners approach to developing online interactive physiology content. This included the online case study developed by an Honours project student. In September 2025, I gave an oral presentation on the project at the 40th Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) in Frankfurt, followed by a poster presentation at the 11th IUPS Workshop for Physiology Education in Löwenstein.
This approach is highly transferable. Case‑based learning is an effective teaching approach used across many disciplines. H5P is widely used by universities internationally and our project has showcased its potential for the creation of engaging, accessible, flexible case studies. Our students as partners approach could also be transferred to any discipline.
Identify below the key learning points - what have you / the project team learned from this initiative and how has it further enhanced you / the project team’s practice?
We have found that online interactive case studies are an engaging and accessible resource that supports learners’ understanding of complex, content-heavy subjects.
The students as partners approach was integral to the project’s success. Students can provide valuable insight into areas of difficulty and are creative, often coming up with ideas that academic staff would never have considered.
This project has also demonstrated the value of H5P for creating interactive educational content. We have found it intuitive and it enabled students to create content independently in a relatively short period of time.
We have enhanced our teaching practice through the integration of online case studies. In a PL2904 Human Anatomy and Physiology tutorial at RGU, students completed the bone cancer case study then reflected on the role a clinical biomedical scientist might have had. Additionally, we signpost to relevant case studies as a more active way for students to revise.
Explain below how you have / the project team has evaluated the impact or influence of your initiative
Feedback was collected using a short anonymous survey including both Likert scales and free-text questions. A link to this was embedded at the end of each case study. Feedback was very positive, with 90% of respondents agreeing that the case studies increased their confidence with the content and 96% reporting increased understanding (n=55). Free-text comments highlighted that the case studies were engaging (n=14) and allowed students to apply their knowledge (n=7). Comments included:
“It was engaging, interesting and had a good mix of quizzes and information.”
“It was eye catching and helped you learn the information in a fun way compared to just reading books or websites.”
In the past year, the website has been visited by 335 users from 35 different countries. Two case studies were integrated into BI20B2 Physiology of Human Cells as an optional revision resource. These received positive feedback in the CFRF and SSLC meeting.